Riddle of the Liddells
by LonelyLittleLife
Summary: What if Alice and Hatter's roles were reversed? What if a young man named David fell through the looking glass, and a young girl, 'Hatter', chose to help him? Was previously titled 'David in Wonderland'.
1. Through The Looking Glass

This is my first ever '_Alice_' fanfiction. This story will be loosely based on the original plot of the mini-series, but it will have my own twists and storylines in there.  
>I wrote this chapter just before I went to bed, so please excuse any grammaticalspelling errors.  
>Enjoy.<p>

**Through The Looking Glass**

The high pitched wail rang through the room, echoing off the walls and disturbing the peaceful slumber that he had fallen into. Groaning to himself, David threw his duvet over his head, attempting to shield his ears from the sound, before realising that the irritating noise was coming from his alarm. Reaching out a hand, he slammed the button on the alarm, immediately ceasing the annoying sound. He peaked out from under his blanket, he winced as he opened his bleary eyes, blinking repeatedly until he was able to focus on the clock beside him. 8:40 AM.

Shit! He only had 20 minutes to get ready and get to the dojo on time before his first class. He ripped the covers off of his body, throwing them to the side before practically jumping out of bed. He hurried towards the curtains, flinging them open and wincing at the bright light that attacked his eyes through the window. He groaned, spinning around before all but running towards the bathroom where he slammed the door shut and then debated whether or not he would have time to shower...

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><p>Running a hand through his damp unruly hair, he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. He dialled his boss's phone number, putting it to his ear and listening as the tone sounded on the other end. He looked around impatiently, trying to weave his way through the sea of people on the streets of New York. People looked over and glared at him as he pushed passed them hurriedly, some commenting on how he "needs to slow down" and should "get some manners!" David didn't care, for he was already running 10 minutes late. He then decided that having a shower this morning probably wasn't the best thing to decide.<p>

Finally, his boss picked up the phone. "Hello David," his boss's deep voice boomed through his ears as he pushed people towards the side, fighting to get passed them.

"Hey Frank," he panted out his greeting in his thick Yorkshire accent. "I'm just calling to let you know that I'm gonna be a little... um... late." He finished pathetically, wincing at the onslaught that was sure to come.

He could hear a deep sigh on the other end of the phone. "You don't say? You're already over 10 minutes late, Davey," David gritted his teeth at the nickname. Frank had called it him once, and when he had found out how much it irritated the young Yorkshireman, he decided that it would become his little nickname for him. "How much longer are you gonna be? Jessica's trying to stall them, but she isn't doing a good job. Some of the students are getting a little annoyed, Davey. Get your ass in gear! And while you're at it, buy a new alarm!"

He flinched, pulling the phone away from his ear slightly as Frank's voice spat at him. "I'm almost there. I'm just around the corner," he grunted out, finally being able to move from behind a lady who would lose a race against a snail. He hung up the phone, thankful that Frank hadn't gone to the extreme and fired him. Practically sprinting, he ran around the corner, breathing a sight of relief as the dojo came into view. He ran inside, skidding to a stop, cheeks flushed. Panting, he nodded towards Sally who was on the reception desk, before running towards the staff area. He quickly changed into his gi, trying to catch his breath back. Fastening his belt around his waist, he ran into his classroom and nodded in greeting and gratitude towards Jessica.

"You're welcome" she smiled at him, winking slightly before walking out of the classroom and down the hall, over-exaggerating the sway of her hips, which made David roll his eyes. David turned away, apologising to his class, who were glaring at him for being late.

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><p>Pulling his coat tighter around his body to shield himself from the chilly air of October, David walked towards his mother's house. The concrete streets were just as busy as this morning, but this time, David was in no rush, considering he didn't have to fight his way towards the dojo this time. It was Wednesday evening, the time of the week where David and his family sat down at his mother's house and had a family meal. His mother had insisted on this happening every week, as she said that she 'missed cooking for him'... David suspected that this was his mother's way of making sure he got a good meal in his stomach, instead of the pathetic attempts of his own cooking. He was an awful cook.<p>

He had moved out of the house a year ago, 4 years after they had originally moved to the US. He lived alone in his own apartment across town, but his younger half-brother, Ryan, still lived with his mother in their little family house.

Walking up the driveway of the house, he smiled as he saw the silhouette of his mother through the living room window. He was home. Grasping the doorknob, he opened the front door and stepped inside, removing his scarf from around his neck, the smell of his mother's delicious cooking invading his nostrils. "Mum, it's just me!" he called out, removing his coat and hanging it up, before taking off his shoes and walking into the living room.

His mother was standing near the bookshelf, putting away various books. Placing a copy of 'Alice in Wonderland' on the shelf, she turned around and smiled at him. "Hello, David". She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a motherly hug. David hugged her back, smiling, before pulling away and asking his mother what they were having for dinner. It was, of course, his favourite – a nice, traditional cottage pie.

His mother, Helena, walked into the kitchen, and then the thunderous sounds of Ryan's atrocious music filled his ears, making David glare up at the ceiling. His brother really did have the worst taste in music... He walked out of the room and towards the staircase, rubbing his temple and trying to block out the sound of Kanye West blaring from upstairs.

"Ryan!" he called up, trying to gain his brother's attention. "RYAN! RYAN, YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE DICK!" his mother scolded him for his use of foul language, "TURN IT DOWN!" he screamed. He then sighed in relief when his brother finally turned the monstrosity that he called 'music' off.

His brother bounded around the corner and appeared at the top of the stairs. "No need to get touchy, David. At least my taste in music is better than yours!" he smirked, noticing how David glared at him. He walked down the stairs, travelling into the living room to watch television, while David walked into the kitchen.

After apologising to his mother for his foul language, David began to set up the table in the living room, before helping his mother set out the food. "Ryan, dinner's ready!" his mother called, placing the final plateful of food onto the table. Ryan sat down on one of the chairs, sitting across from David. They ate in peace... mostly, anyway. There was a moment where Ryan decided to bring up the subject of music once more, just to irritate his older brother. It worked.

Both of the brothers helped their mother clean up the table, thanking her for the meal. They all walked into the living room, where Helena grabbed the remote and tried to find something decent to watch. David sat on the armchair, relaxing and stretching his limbs out. His mother and Ryan sat on the couch. They were all watching the television screen intently, focussing on the film that Helena had managed to find.

"Mum," Ryan began, somewhat hesitantly, "can I go to Arizona with Mike and Paul?" he rushed out. His mother turned around to face him, staring at him unbelievingly.

"What? Ryan, don't ask stupid questions!" she exclaimed, staring at him with disbelief. "Mike and Paul? You mean those 18 year old kids that you hang around with?" she asked, trying to remember who these people were.

Ryan glared at his mother, "Why can't I go?" he asked loudly, "And yeah, that's them. They're my friends, mum. It's not like we're gonna get killed, for God's sake!" he yelled a bit louder, turning his head up defiantly.

David chose to stay quiet, and let his brother have his little childish rant. It was usual for Ryan to try and argue with people, but he rarely did so with his mother.

"Ryan, I said no. I don't care who you're going with, or what you're wanting to do there – you're not going and that's that." she said forcefully, "You're not an adult yet. You're 16, you can do anything you want once you're an adult, but right now, you're still a child and I'm the adult. You aren't going off on your own to a state that is practically across the country!" she finished, the tone in her voice showing that that's where she wanted to end the conversation.

Ryan stood up, glaring down at his mother. "I am not a child!" he spat out, making David roll his eyes. "I'll do what I want, and you can't stop me! I'm going with Mike and Paul, and you can't stop me!" he continued on, still glaring at his mother. David began to rise up from his seat, intending to try to calm his brother down. "You're the worst mum ever!" he spat out at his mother, shaking from his tantrum.

"Oi!" David bit out, grabbing Ryan's arm and spinning him around "Don't speak to mum like that, you little brat. Apologise, now!" he shouted in his face, glaring down at his little brother.

Ryan smirked, "No." He said simply, pulling his arm out of David's grasp. He glared up at his brother, who towered over the short boy, showing that he truly was not an adult. Ryan pushed his brother out of the way, shoving him to the side as he ran out of the house.

Looking down at his mother's face, David saw her distraught face. "Mum, he's talking a load of crap. He's a child, a silly teenager. He doesn't mean it," he said to her, giving her a small hug "I'll go find him before he gets into trouble" he told her, before running out of the house after his brother.

* * *

><p>"RYAN?" he shouted out into the alley where he had seen his brother run down. "Ryan, where are you?" he called out, squinting in the dark to try and make out where he was. He walked towards the end of the alleyway, where he could see a small amount of light. The cold air enveloped him, and he now regretted forgetting to pick up his coat on the way out, his shirt, pants and boots being the only form of protection against the cold.<p>

The sound of Ryan's yell rang through his ears, and his feet ran towards where he had heard the sound. He heard the yell again, and he pushed himself to run faster, his breath coming out in short pants. He called out, trying to locate his brother, and then he saw it – the men pulling his struggling brother into the back of a large white van.

"HEY! RYAN!" he shouted out, trying to speed up "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" he screamed out as the men closed the door to the van. Once of the men turned around, glaring at David. The other ran to the front of the van and hopped in, attempting to start the engine. David pushed himself to run faster, his body being fuelled by the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The van's engine began, but David was slammed backwards, the wind being knocked out of him, and the van sped off into the distance before disappearing out of sight.

"What are you doing, you stupid oyster?" the man asked, holding David by his collar. The elderly man had an eerie smile on his face, his white hair blowing slightly in the wind. Before David had a chance to say anything, the man stiffened suddenly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic communication device, studying it closely, reading whatever it had written on it. His head snapped up to look at David, before he pulled his fist back and attempted to punch him square in the jaw. Using a simple defensive move, David was able to block the attack and then get free of this man, pushing him back slightly.

"What the fuck have you done with him? Where are you taking him?" he spat out at the old man, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him against the wall. The man smiled at him, before pulling out a small device and shoving it into David's side. He yelped in pain, grasping at where he had been electrocuted.

"None of your business!" the old man yelled back to him as he ran down the alley. David struggled to his feet, breathing heavily, before chasing after the elderly man. He may have had a head start, but being a lot younger than him, David was easily able to catch up, even if he had just been electrocuted.

He could clearly see the man, but in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly gone. All that David could see in front of him was a large antique mirror. He tried to stop his sore feet, but he couldn't. He prepared himself, expecting to feel the cold glass slam against his face as he fell into it and the hard concrete floor as the landed on it. But surprisingly, David didn't feel any of this... but he did feel like he was falling. Opening his eyes, he gasped loudly, gazing at the various swirls of colours that were around him. He was indeed falling – and quite quickly.

He closed his eyes once more, the colours and the motion making him feel quite sick. Then, suddenly, he landed with a thud on something soft. He groaned in pain, pushing his dazed body up. Looking around, he could see what looked like a small grassed patch of floor... and then what looked like a flooded hallway.

"Hello?" he called out, looking around, trying to find some sort of familiarity. In the distance, he could see the dark silhouette of a man step out into the hallway. "Oi!" he shouted to the old man, beginning to run after him. The grey-haired bloke looked behind him, glancing at David, before quickening his pace. "Hey! Wait!" David shouted, trying to get the man to stop. The man just ignored him.

David carried on running, watching as the man walked through the doorway at the end of the hall. Slamming the doors open and running through them, he narrowly avoided falling of the end of what appeared to be a cliff, but when he looked around, all he could see were houses and buildings built on top of very high structures. It looked like they had just built on top of their old houses over and over again. Glancing to his left, David saw the man disappearing behind a corner, and David chased after him, shouting for the man to stop. The elderly man, of course, did not stop.

They carried on running, winding through various buildings and trees. The man seemed to know where he was going. Stopping suddenly, David's eyes opened. He could see Ryan... being dragged by two broad men in black suits. He looked unconscious, and the old man helped them pull him inside of the building frantically. David chased after them, looking at the doors. The logo read "White Rabbit".

A loud rumbling vibrated through David's feat and ears, shaking his body. Turning around, he saw a large aircraft with bright shining lights turning around the corner. Stunned, David stood still, simply staring at the vehicle. It lights shone around him, until one of the beams caught on his arm. He stared, amazed. Where the light had touched him, a small green design appeared, tattooing his skin painlessly. The aircraft continued on, and David quickly spun around and entered the building, pulling open one of the large doors.

Walking through, all he could see was large green plants growing along the walls. Looking down at his new mark, he tried to rub it off, albeit unsuccessfully. Looks like it was permanent. Glancing up again, he walked through the rooms cautiously, trying to find Ryan. He looked behind him, seeing a small lighted entrance to a white padded room. Walking up slowly, he noticed that there was a small table in the centre of this room, with a small glass bottle on it. He picked it up, and read the label that was attached.

"Curiosity," it read, "...killed the cat".

Confused, David placed the bottle back onto the glass table, before casting his eyes around the room. He noticed that there was a small sliding rectangle on one of the walls. Curiosity took over, and he walked up to it, sliding open the metal door.

Looking inside, all he could see were loads of padded rooms, similar to the one he was in, but they all had different people inside. All of which had marks on them. Similar marks to the one that he had just received by the light. He gasped, closing the door and standing up quickly. The door to the padded room closed. David was trapped. Then – the ceiling began to lower, making him get onto his knees. The walls moved closer in, enclosing him in a small white padded box.

One of the rectangular doors slid open, and the old man appeared. "Ahh, couldn't resist, could you?" he asked in his silken voice, smiling slightly to himself.

"Let me out!" David shouted at the man, but the man simply stated that he shouldn't chosen have followed him. He then slid shut the door slowly, before walking away, leaving David alone in his small, white, padded box...


	2. Meeting Miss Hatter

Note about updates: Due to the fact that I have important exams coming up soon, I will not be able to update a lot. I will, however, attempt to upload at least one chapter every week (unless I have some major studying to do).  
>Enjoy.<p>

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><p><strong>Meeting Miss. Hatter<br>**He gasped as he felt the box begin to rock, feeling it being lifted higher and higher. He glanced around frantically, trying to find a way to get out. A small amount of light filtered through the bottom of the box, making it easier for David to see. Looking down, he noticed how the edge of the crate at the bottom had been worn away slightly, presumably from over-use. He felt around the worn area, trying to find a weak spot. As his fingers brushed the wood, he could feel parts begin to break off, creating a larger gap and allowing more light to pass through. He clawed his hands on the wood, trying to find a way to open the crate. Noticing how this was getting him nowhere, he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Another plan popped into his head, and he reached into his pockets, searching for his wallet. Retrieving it, he opened it up and pulled out one of his credit cards and placed the wallet back into his pocket. Sliding the card in between the gap, he moved it around frantically, trying to find a latch.

He smiled to himself, hearing an audible 'click' as he opened the latch. The bottom of the create opened quickly, and David grabbed onto the edge of the box, gasping as his feet dangled below him. Glancing down, he saw a large body of water moving quickly below him. He tried to think quickly, willing his arms to support his weight. Casting his eyes around him, he noticed that there were many other small boxes, much like the one he had been trapped in, hanging from the aircraft.

He could feel his arms beginning to weaken, gasping as one of them dropped from the box, leaving him dangling by one arm. The strain became too much for him, and he let go. His body was pulled down quickly, falling towards the large lake below him. A loud scream escaped his mouth of it's own accord, and he barely had time to suck in a large breath before he was engulfed by the water.

Swimming upwards, he broke the surface, gasping for air. He looked around himself, trying to find out where he was. All he saw was water; grassy banks and water. He spun round, gasping as he saw a large city in front of him. He began to swim towards it, willing his body to go on even though it was screaming at him to stop. Fuelled on by adrenaline, he swam quicker towards the city, heading towards where he could see a small alley.

When he finally reached it, he pulled himself up and out of the water, landing on the hard concrete face down. He laid there, trying to regain his breath back as he glanced around. He noticed a pair of large black boots to his right, and looking up, he could see a scruffy man standing there, staring down at David wide-eyed. As David looked this man over, it was then that he noticed that the man was holding a knife up at him. David sprung to his feet, immediately moving into a defensive position. He did not know what this man wanted, but David sure as hell didn't want to be stabbed any time soon.

"Put the knife down, mate," David ordered, looking into the man's wide-eyes. The man, however, was staring at David's arm. Looking down, David remembered the strange green mark that he had received from the bright light.

"You're an oyster?" the tramp asked in a rough voice, still staring at David's arm. Self-consciously, David tugged on the sleeve of his blue shirt, wishing it was longer so that he could cover the mark.

"Put the knife away!" David ordered more sternly this time, shifting his eyes back to look at the man. He noticed how the man's demeanour had changed; how his wide-eyes were now glaring at David, a small look of fear on his face.

The man clumsily shoved the small knife into it's holder. "I don't want nothin' to do with you," he mumbled to himself, picking up a fishing net and rod, "I'm a workin' man. I don't want no trouble".

A loud rumble could be felt below their feet, a loud humming sound rang through their ears, making them both snap their heads up. The large aircraft that had been carrying David was hovering passed, with small crates hanging from below it. David felt something tugging on his arm, and as he snapped his head down, he saw the man pulling on his shirt, willing him to move. David was pulled into the shadows, safely out of sight from the ship.

"If I get caught with you, we'll both be dead!" the old man spat out, quickly turning away from David and scurrying off around the corner.

David ran after the man, easily catching up. "Wait, I don't know where I'm going," he shouted out, but the man did not stop. "I need directions, sir!" he shouted out to the man.

But the man just grumbled back "Go away", still shuffling away, "I can't help no oyster!" he spat out, turning another corner.

An idea struck David as he followed the man. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, which was now drenched from his fall. "Look, I'll pay you!" he shouted towards the man. The man spun around quickly, now seemingly interested. "I have money," David said as the man stopped, pulling out some money from his wallet.

"What's that?" the scruffy man asked, casting his confused eyes towards David's hands.

David held it out to the man, "Twenty bucks," he said, enticing the man to walk closer towards him.

"Bucks?" the man asked roughly, looking up at David. He scrunched up his face, confused at what David was offering him. David dropped his hands, still holding the money.

David looked at the man, noticing how he didn't seem to know what David was talking about. "Look, I'm looking for someone, can you help me?" he asked. The man cocked his head as David continued, "I think he was kidnapped and brought here. He's shorter than me," he began to describe "quite pale, short brown hair, wears a black hoodie?..." He trailed off as he noticed the man's expression.

The man now looked even more confused. "Hoodie?" he asked, cocking his head the other way.

David sighed in frustration at this man's lack of understanding. "Look, can you help me find him or not?" he asked, exasperated, once again holding out the money towards the man. "If you can help me find him, it's yours" David offered.

The man looked into David's eyes, "an oyster like you?" he asked, confused as to why David was willing to give the man money.

"Yeah," David answered the man as he grabbed the money from his hand. The man examined it closely, pulling it up to his nose and sniffing it. David looked at the man, confused with his behaviour, but chose not to question it. He raised his eyebrow as he saw the man stick his tongue out to lick the money, but kept his mouth closed.

"Eyuckk" the man spat out, scrunching up his face in distaste.

David raised his hand towards the man, offering it to him for him to shake. "I'm David," he stated, "David Liddell."

The man's eyes lit up at the mention of his name. "Liddell?" he asked in amazement. "You're a Liddell?" he asked again.

"Look, mate," David began, raising his eyebrows at the man's sudden interest in his name, "you're kind of freaking me out here... Listen, the guy I'm looking for? I think he's trapped in that flying beetle-ship-plane thing. Do you know where it's headed?"

Completely ignoring a word that just fell from David's lips, the man smiled at him. "You," he pointed at David, beckoning him, "come with me". He scurried off around the corner, turning around when he noticed that David wasn't following. "Come on, quick!" he shouted out, beckoning David once again.

Confused, David quickly walked towards the man, following him around the corner. The man led him through the dark alley, winding his way through the confusing passage ways until they reached the streets. The man continued to walk, scurrying his way around until the two of them reached a large metal stairway. They began to walk up it, where they turned the corner and crossed a large bridge. David continued to follow the man while he was lead through the streets, until they reached a large building. The man stopped him by a large red telephone box.

The man turned to David, grabbing his arm. David flinched away, trying to tug his arm from the man's grasp as a red bandanna was wrapped around the green mark. "No thanks, mate," David stuttered out, trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to pull his arm away from the man.

The man hushed him, mumbling out "If they find out you're an oyster, you're dead". He tied the bandanna in place quickly, successfully covering the green mark.

"They?," David asked confused, "Who's they?" The man ignored him, mumbling out how David should count to ten and then follow him. "What's in there?" David shouted out towards the man as he scurried off.

"Someone who knows!" was the man's quiet reply.

"Knows what?" David called out, but the man ignored him and hurried towards the doors of the building. Looking around, David stared at the man, before noticing the large glowing sigh above the entrance to the building. "_TEA HOUSE_" it read in large red letters. Still confused, David counted to ten in his head before running after the man, his boots crunching on the grassy pathway below him.

He opened the front doors and slid inside, slowly walking forward before stopping so that he was still hidden in the shadows. The sound of loud chatter and shouting filled his ears. In front of him was a large room, filled with men and women sitting around white circular tables. There was a grassy pathway down the middle, and people were walking around, seemingly gathered towards the front of the room. He slowly walked forward, trying to make sense of what was happening. He could see a large podium at the front of the room, with a small man napping behind it, snoring quietly to himself. How he could sleep in a place this noisy was beyond David. There were people calling out and men writing things on chalkboards. None of it made any sense.

Looking to the other side of him, David saw a wall full of bottles. Looking closer, he squinted, trying to read the labels on the bottles. One of them was filled with a bright red liquid, and had the word "lust" written on it. Another was green with the word "excitement".

David was beyond confused.

He jumped slightly as a loud 'bang' sounded through the room, and his head snapped up to look towards where the sleeping man had been stood. Only this time, the man was slowly awakening. Silence slowly filled the room as they all listened to what this man had to say.

He raised his arm, "I have an important announcement to make!" he started, his high-pitched voice grabbing everyone's attention. "A new tea has just come on the market!" he announced joyfully. He leaned forward, his tone turning sombre, "Do ya' ever get that guilty feelin'? Huh? Maybe abandoned the wife and kids, and left them without a crumb to split between them?" he asked, and David noticed how some people's faces changed at this question, "Or maybe you killed someone? Relative, or neighbour?" the man asked, "And it's left that niggling feeling in the pit of your stomach, that's growing little by little into a large, throbbing pain. And it's gnawing away at your conscience, making you feel sick and worthless... and fearful?" he questioned, looking around at people's faces. Suddenly, his demeanour changed, "Well fear no more!" he shouted out enthusiastically, "Because 'Clear Conscience' has just arrived!" He finished, and the sound of chatter from the people in the room begun once more as the man fell to sleep.

David looked around the room, confused still. He felt someone grab onto his arm. He spun around, looking down at the scruffy man that had brought him here.

"This way," he said, pulling David towards a door at the back of the room. He opened it, motioning for David to enter, before following him in. He walked infront of David, beckoning him forward.

This room was empty, it seemed. There were no shouting people or sleepy salesmen in here. It looked like an office. Looking towards his feet, David noticed how there was no carpeted floor, and it was in fact dirt that he was standing on. He glanced up towards the back of the room, where he saw a large desk and several sofas and chairs. Besides the desk was a large white chair that was faced away from David. All he could see was the brim of a hat poking out from above it.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" a female voice rang out from the direction of the chair. David tilted his head slightly, confused at the offer. The scruffy man was stood beside him, smiling to himself.

Clearing his throat, David stuttered out "Um, no thank you". He scrunched his face in wonder as the person remained in their current position, meaning that David could not see who they were. "Who are you?" he asked the girl.

The chair slowly spun around, revealing a pretty brown haired woman sat there. She was wearing a maroon coloured dress with matching boots, and a brown leather jacket. The pork pie hat on her head was large and brown, but it seemed to suit her well. "A friend," she answered him, "I hope". She smiled slightly as she went on to explain to him that she ran the tea shop.

David stared at her in confusion, feeling his arm behind tugged at. Looking down. He saw the tramp pulling off the red bandanna to reveal his arm. "See?" he asked the girl, pointing towards the mark. David pulled his arm out of the man's grasp forcefully, glaring at him slightly. He looked back towards the girl as she stood up from her seat.

Walking towards the desk, she leaned against it, staring intently at David. "How did you break out of the scarab?" she asked in wonder.

"The beetle-ship thing?" David asked.

"Uh-huh"

"I used my credit card to open the latch and... well, I fell," he answered, motioning to his wet clothes. "As you can see, I'm drenched".

The girl looked at the oyster, smiling slightly as she noticed how the clothes clung to his body. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she removed the smile from her face, trying to focus on the matter at hand.

"Look, this place..." David began, "What is it? I mean, where am I?" he asked.

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, "You're in Wonderland," she answered him simply, smiling once again.

David's confusion grew, "That's a kid's story," he stated, furrowing his brows in confusion.

The woman's face grew serious as she looked into David's brown eyes. "Does this seriously look like a kid's story to you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

David answered her with a simple "No".

"It's changed a lot since then," the woman stated, standing up from the desk. She grabbed a small magnifying glass and walked towards David, reaching out for his arm.

"So you're saying it was real?" David asked unbelievingly.

She turned his arm towards the light, examining the mark closely. "You bet ya." she answered, turning his arm this way and that to get a closer look. "You oyster's don't know how to find us. You tell yourself that we don't exist, and quite frankly, we'd like to keep it that way." she finished as she dropped his arm.

"Why do you people keep calling me that?" David asked, glaring slightly at the woman, "Why am I an 'oyster'? This?", he asked, motioning towards his green mark.

The girl gave an apologetic face towards David, grimacing slightly. "Yeah... that's not going to come off. Sorry." She looked up at him before explaining, "Only people from your world get these green marks when you're hit with the light." She turned away, walking back towards her desk. David watched her as she explained. "It's the suit's way of branding their catch... And they call you 'oysters' because of the shiny little pearls you all carry inside of you."

"What do you mean 'pearls'?" David asked the woman as she turned towards him.

The two of them had forgotten that the scruffy man was still there, and David jumped slightly when he motioned towards David, "He's a Liddell," he stated to the woman. "Tell him who you are," he told David.

The woman circled David, looking him up and down. "Wow," she said with a tone of fake disbelief, "Really?" She taunted David slightly, trying to get him to lighten up, but stopped immediately when she noticed that it wasn't working. Coming to stand next to the scruffy man, she nudged him slightly. "So, Ratty here thinks you're related to Alice Liddell... of legend." she said to David, turning to glare at Ratty. The name suited the man very well, David decided.

"Who?" David asked simply, looking between Ratty and the woman stood next to him.

"Well," the woman started, walking towards David once more, "the last time a member of the Liddell family came here from your world, she brought down the whole house of cards," the woman stated, nodding slightly. "Oh yeah – made quite the impression. Although," she turned towards Ratty, "It was 150 years ago." she said towards him, glaring slightly at his stupidity. "He can't be related to her anyway; from the tales I've heard, Alice was the last member of her family." she finished.

"I still want a good price," Ratty grumbled out towards the woman, glancing towards David slightly.

David furrowed his brows, staring at the tramp. "Hold up!" he shouted, "I am not for sale!"

The woman simply held up her hand to David, silencing him. She turned around slowly, nodding her head and rolling her eyes at Ratty towards David, before turning away and walking towards a cabinet at the back of the room. "Not on the grass!" she ordered Ratty as he attempted to follow her. Pulling out a small bottle filled with a pink liquid, she examined it before turning back towards Ratty. She started walking towards him slowly, "Here we are" she stated, holding it up towards him. "Pink nectar, filled to the brim with human excitement. Over 50 oysters were drained just so that you could have a small taste of what it feels like." she explained, stopping in front of Ratty. He reached out to take the bottle from her, but she pulled it back quickly, her tone turning more serious, "Warning: don't take it on an empty stomach, and use only one tiny little drop at a time, otherwise the experience may just burst your shrivelled up little heart. Got it?" she asked him.

Ratty's eyes were fill of excitement, "Got it!"

"Good," she said, giving the man the bottle "Go," she ordered, watching as the scruffy man ran out of the room. "... He really smells" she stated, walking away from where the man had been stood.

"'Oysters were drained'? What do you mean 'drained'?" David asked her, confused.

The woman stared at him, before quickly turning around and walking towards her desk. "Ratty tells me you were looking for someone?" She asked, changing the subject. She sat down on a chair and picked up her teacup, taking a sip.

"Um, yeah. My brother. His name is Ryan," David explained, moving closer towards the woman. The woman noticed how David was stood on the grass, but chose not to comment on it. "He was taken by a man with a white rabbit on his lapel," David went on to explain.

She froze slightly, before lifting her teacup once more. "I see," she said, taking another sip. Sighing slightly, she put down her cup onto the saucer. "The white rabbit is an organisation controlled by the suits. They travel back and forth through the looking glass to... vanish people from your world to ours." she explained, taking another sip slowly.

"Why?" David asked.

"To use in the casino," she stated simply.

"Use?" David asked, his tone slightly accusatory. "What do you mean 'use'?"

The woman froze slightly, spitting out her tea. "Did I say 'use'?" she asked in a slightly nervous tone. She placed the saucer and cup onto the desk and stood up, turning to face David. "Uh, slip of the tongue," she tried to cover for herself, "They're fine, really. You know? They keep 'em... alive and moderately happy." she finished, looking up at David.

"How do I get to this casino?" David asked her, wanting to go and rescue his brother.

She gave a false laugh, "That's the thing... you don't." David narrowed his eyes at her, pursing his lips. "It's way too dangerous. But, I know some people... who know some more people, you know?" she asked, smiling slightly. "One of the privileges of running a tea shop" She popped the 'p', smiling at David. Her smile faltered when she noticed that he was still glaring at her. "Lighten up!" she said, turning around and walking towards a small wardrobe that was at the back of the office.

She examined all of the jackets, trying to find one that would fit David. He wasn't a big guy or anything, but the woman doubted that her small jackets would be able to fit him. She carried on looking until she found a men's jacket that was too big for her, and wondered if it would fit him. She spun around, holding the black jacket. "Here, try this on," she said, walking over to him and holding the jacket out for him to take.

David looked at her, "I have a little money... but I understand that you don't use that here?" he asked.

"Pieces of paper? Absolutely pointless!" she stated, still holding out the jacket.

"Then why would you help me?" he asked confused, still not taking the jacket from the woman.

"Because I want to," she stated, narrowing her eyes slightly at him, "Now, are you gonna take the jacket or am I gonna have to keep holding it out for you like an idiot?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

He still refused to take it from her. "That doesn't explain why you want to help me," he stated, folding his arms.

The woman dropped her hands, throwing the jacket onto one of the sofas. "Fine," she stated, "You know what? I'm genuinely hurt that you don't trust me," she explained, before changing her tone, "Look, I know some people who like to help your people. And if once in a while, I scratch their back..."

"They'll scratch yours?" he finished for her.

"Precisely."

He looked at her oddly, before walking over to where she had thrown the jacket. He reached down, grabbing it before putting it on.

"Wonderful," she stated, smiling up at him, "That'll cover the glow of the mark, and stop you from catching a cold." she stated. "You can call me Hatter, by the way." David suppressed laughter at the name, realising that the whole 'Wonderland' thing was real.

She turned around, walking towards the back of the office and towards a door. "Do try to keep up." She opened the door, beckoning for David to follow her. He walked towards the door, noticing how it lead to nowhere. Hatter motioned towards the side of the building, where a small ladder was attached. David gulped, staring wide-eyed.

"What?" she asked, scrunching her face in confusion, "You're afraid of heights?"

David straightened up, trying not to show his slight fear. "No," he stated, narrowing his eyes.

She laughed slightly, walking towards the door. "Just follow me, and try not to look down," she said, before grabbing onto the ladder and swinging herself onto it. She began to walk down slowly, and David gulped. He swallowed his fear, pushing it aside and grabbing the edge of the ladder. He swung himself onto it, grasping it tight. Walking down slowly, he refused to look anywhere except straight ahead of him. Once he felt his foot touch solid ground, he sighed in relief and turned towards where Hatter was stood.

"See? Wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked, smiling up at him. "Stay close to the wall and try to keep up!" she called, already walking down the thin pathway. David followed after her quickly, sticking as close to the wall as possible.


	3. What's Normal?

Note: Yeah... some more of my other 'twists' will come into this chapter. I may explain why I chose to do these 'twists' later on.  
>Enjoy.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>What's Normal?<br>**Meanwhile, in the Heart's Casino, the 10 of Clubs walked swiftly through the halls, heading for Agent White in the lobby. He headed through the lobby area, walking straight towards him, his black robes swaying behind him as he walked. Agent White stood up, looking at the 10 of Clubs with a blank expression.

The 10 of Clubs looked at the old man, "You're late", he stated in an annoyed tone, walking off briskly.

"I know." The old white-haired man followed him, "I'm sorry," he said in an unapologetic tone, his face quite smug.

The two of them walked through one of the main casino lounges, where the oysters were playing blackjack. The oysters sighed happily as they won, their joy and happiness being drained from them, moving into the distillation containers below ground. They continued to walk towards where the main board room was, climbing the stairs until they reached the doors.

The 10 of Clubs swung open the large doors, entering the huge room along with Agent White. The King of Hearts spun around, his face instantly brightening. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "There you are!"

Agent White held out a small circular box towards the King, smiling proudly.

"Oh great day!" the King exclaimed in excitement "Finally!" He reached out and took the box from Agent White, examining it closely. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "So, how do you open this thing?" he asked the older man.

Agent White chuckled quietly, "I don't know your Majesty," he answered.

"Well, there's a hidden catch somewhere," the King said, trying to find it on the small box. "I can never remember where it is, though." He gave in, handing the box to Agent White and ordering the 10 of Clubs to summon the queen. He walked off immediately, off to find the Queen of Hearts.

A few moments later, the 10 of Clubs returned with a large red-headed woman in tow. She walked into the room, and the suits sat around the table immediately stood up in her presence. She looked down at them all, a small, smug smile on her face, before going to sit on the chair at the head of the table.

"How are all my lovely suits today?" she asked in an uncaring voice, looking down at everyone surrounding the table.

They all bowed, and the King of Hearts replied "We are very nice today, ma'am.".

"How nice," she said, sitting down on her large chair, "You're all so clever and... pretty." The rest of the suits sat down around the table, and the King of Hearts sat on his chair, facing the Queen.

"We found the original Stone of Wonderland!" he told her in a proud tone, barely being able to hide his excitement.

Her head snapped towards him, "Where is it?" she asked in a demanding tone. Agent White walked towards her throne, holding a white cushion with the small box on it.

"We'll have the looking glass up and running in no time! The original ring is far better than our little copy, and with the original ring, we'll be able to take 50, no, 100 oysters at a time." the King of Hearts said proudly, trying to please his Queen.

The Queen unlocked the hidden catch on the box, opening it quickly. Her face fell to one of anger, and she turned towards her husband. "Is this some sort of joke?" she asked, glaring at him.

He looked up at her, confusion written all over his face. "My dear?"

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked, holding out the empty box for him to see. The King stood up quickly, noticing that there was no ring in the box.

The King's head snapped towards Agent White, who looked very much afraid. "Where did you get this box from?" the king spat out through his teeth, glaring at the old man.

"The boy that we took, your majesty," he explained, "He had stolen the box from his mother, and when questioned, he said that he didn't know what it was or how to open it. He had taken it as he wanted to find a way to open it... I searched him, he doesn't have the ring on his possession." he said quickly, trying not to further anger the King or Queen.

The Queen turned towards the King, "Boy?" she questioned through tight lips.

"Agent White took the box from a young teenage boy, ma'am; an oyster," he turned towards Agent White, "Where's the boy, then?"

Agent White's smile faltered. "He escaped, your majesty. He managed to run away from us while we were looking at the box," he explained in a quiet voice, stumbling over his words slightly in his nervousness, looking down towards the cushion in his hands.

"Is that so?" the Queen of Heart's voice turned bitter as she turned to glare at the old men, "Off with his head!" she ordered. Agent White's face dropped and the blood drained, making his face almost as white as his hair. Two large men grabbed his arms from either side and practically dragged him out of the room.

"We'll need to find the boy," the Queen thought out-loud.

"I'll put all suits on standby, ma'am," the King offered, moving closer to the Queen.

"No," she said, "it'll only alert the Resistance." She narrowed her brows in concentration, trying to think of a plan. "We need someone who will get the job done. Someone who is heartless, cold, and criminally insane..." her frown turned into a twisted smile "Is Mad March alive yet?" she asked, turning to face the King.

* * *

><p>The Queen sat on her throne, suits standing around the edges of the room, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new assassin. The doors swung open, and the Queen sat forward eagerly, only to slouch back down again in disappointment when Carpenter and his assistant, Walrus, walked through the doors.<p>

"Well, where is he then?" the Queen ordered to know in a stern voice, narrowing her eyes at the old man.

"Before I bring him in, I just want you to know that we've had to make a few... changes," he explained, "He's not exactly the same as he was before."

The Queen glared at him, "What do you mean?"

"I've had to make a few... shortcuts, to save on time," Carpenter tried to explain.

"How short?" she said through clenched teeth.

Carpenter opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, before he dropped his hands and sighed. He turned around, motioning for the suits to open the doors. They did so, and in walked Mad March.

Only, Carpenter was right, he was not the same as he was before. Mad March didn't look like he did before - This Mad March looked the same as all the other suits, with his human body and black suit. His over-all psycho demeanour was still there, except this 'new' March was different.

He seemed to be missing a head. Sorry - he seemed to be missing a human head. .

This Mad March had a porcelain white rabbit head for a... well, head.

The Queen gasped, standing up quickly. "What have you done to him?" she asked in shock, her eyes going wide. How could she have an assassin that had no head? Would he even work correctly?

"Think of him as a hybrid, your majesty," Carpenter tried, "In many ways, he is better than before." This sure sparked the Queen's interest.

The Queen began to circle her new killer, examining the way Carpenter had re-built him. "Does he have all of his old skills? Tracking, killing... homicidal mania?" She asked, seeming to come around to the idea of having an assassin with a cookie-jar for a head.

"I believe so, your majesty."

"'_Believe so_'... What do you mean you '_believe so_'?" she asked sternly, turning towards the scientist.

"There wasn't much time for testing," he replied, tight lipped.

The Queen moved closer towards Carpenter, "Does he speak?" she asked him. The man nodded to her, and the Queen spun around. "Let's try him out then..." She walked up to him, "Mad March," she started, emphasising the syllables in the words, "How are you today?"

The head twitched, turning to look at the Queen. "Piss off, you cow," came a robotic voice.

The Queen's jaw dropped as gasps rang out through the room from the suits. The Queen's expression then turned joyful, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Excellent! He's perfect!" she cried. "Now then, Marchy," she started, "I need you to find someone. A boy,"

The man's rabbit head turned away from her. "Not interested."

"I see," the Queen started, "How disappointing. Well, in that case, we'll just have to find someone else to do the job. I'm sure we can find another use for you." She turned to the scientist, "Let's put him in the gaming room, where the geeks can have fun with him!"

The rabbit's head snapped towards her, "What?"

"What else am I to do with you? If you won't help me, then I have no other use for you. I am disappointed..."

"Aww, too bad," he mocked in a mechanical voice.

"Take him away. He's obviously past his prime," the Queen said bitterly, turning around and motioning towards Carpenter and his assistant to take Mad March away.

The men started to move towards him, but before they could touch him, 'Marchy' called out. "Okay," he started, grabbing the Queen's attention, "Tell me about this guy..."

* * *

><p>So far, David's perspective of Hatter was that of one of a con-woman. She sold the tea to earn her pay, and didn't give a damn about anybody else. At least, that's what he thought until she offered to help him. But he still didn't understand why she was doing it. What did she get out of it?<p>

Hatter lead David through the narrow pathways, winding her way through the buildings until they came to a row of doors. She continued walking along the pathway until she reached a certain door, where she told David to stick close by. She knocked on the door three times, before a small viewing window slid open.

"I'm returning a library book. It's a work of Edwin and Morcar" she said to the man stood behind the door. David raised an eyebrow at the use of codewords, but chose not to question it.

"How does the little crocodile improve it's shining tail?" the man asked her in a gruff voice, waiting for her response.

Hatter rolled her eyes, "He pours water of the Nile of every golden scale," she responded quickly, her tone sounding impatient. The slot slid shut again, and the sound of several locks being undone could be heard. One final 'click' rang through the air, and the door finally opened. An old man moved out of the way, grumbling out for them to be quick. Hatter walked swiftly through the door, David following closely behind her.

Looking around, David noticed that they weren't actually in a room, but somewhere that more resembled a bus... in fact, David was pretty sure that it was a bus.

"Hello, Duck" Hatter greeted the old man pleasantly. Duck had a long, thin face and grey hair that was hidden by a small cap. He stood behind the wheel and pressed a large button. Suddenly the 'bus' started to move quickly downwards and David was thrown backwards into a seat. Hatter held onto the rails, easily being able to stand. She glanced down at David, smiling to reassure him. "Sorry," she mumbled out in apology for not warning him.

They continued to fall for several minutes, the loud groans of the bus filling the air. Finally, light began to filter through the windows and David rejoiced in the fact that the ride was over.

David went to stand up, but Hatter held up a hand, "Wait," she said, motioning for him to stay seated. He looked up at her with a confused expression, but then the bus gave a final jerk and a loud bang, and Hatter giggled slightly as David gasped. She motioned for him to stand up and exit the bus, and he did so.

That was until he came face-to-face with the end of the barrel of a gun, which was being held by a small elderly woman around the same age of Duck. His eyes widened, and he turned around to walk back, only to realise that Duck was holding a smaller gun up to them as well.

Looking at Hatter, he expected to see a look of fear on her face, only the look there was not of fear. Hell, there was no fear there at all. The look on Hatter's face was one of irritation and annoyance.

The old lady motioned for them to get out of the bus, and they did so. David raised his hands reflexively, staring intently at the woman. Hatter, however, just simply rolled her eyes and strolled out of the bus, acting as if there wasn't two guns being pointed at her right now.

"Why don't you just put those things away?" she asked the two of them, not even attempting to mask the annoyance in the tone of her voice. "Come on Owl, Duck, you know me well enough."

"We have our orders" Duck replied, still holding the gun to Hatter's back. The old lady motioned the two of them to stand near the balcony, and the two of them did so. David still had his hands raised, and as he looked down at Hatter, he noticed that she had her arms crossed, a vexed look clear on her face.

"Did you like the box of comfits I brought you guys last week?" she asked the elderly pair, "The cured meats and the cheese?"

Duck looked at Hatter, "They're all gone" he replied in a sullen tone.

Hatter made a small 'tsk' sound through her teeth, before replying "Well, if you don't treat me with a little respect," she narrowed her eyes at the two of them, "you won't be getting another crumb."

The elderly pair hesitated for a moment, before the old man lowered his gun. The old lady followed suit, sighing to herself and lowing her gun, before hugging it to her chest. "I'm sorry, Hatter," she said, turning around and heading down the hallway, "Everyone's just a little jumpy."

Hatter rolled her eyes, following Owl and motioning for David to follow her. "Everyone's always a little jumpy," she mumbled out. David finally lowered his arms hesitantly, not knowing if he could trust these people.

"Where are we?" David asked in wonder, looking around the building.

"The Great Library," Hatter replied, "There's 5000 years of history hidden here. Art, literature, law... Rescued when the Queen of Heart's seized power," she went on to explain, "She'd like nothing more than to see this place burnt to nothing."

The two of them stopped near the balcony, peering over the edge. There were mountains and mountains of books piled up on the floor. Hundreds of them, scattered all over, while people camped out amongst them.

"Who are those poor people?" David asked, glancing down at the people below.

Hatter leaned against the railing before explaining to him, "Refugees. Those who don't want to be a part of the Queen's world. We give them shelter and try to feed them the best we can, but it's very dangerous... If the Queen ever found out, they wouldn't stand a chance."

"Why does she want to destroy all of this?" David asked quietly, gazing down at the scene before him.

"Wisdom is her biggest threat," Hatter explained to him, "She keeps control of people with a quick fix."

So Hatter was helping to protect these people? David's mind worked overtime trying to figure out who Hatter actually was, and what she actually stood for...

"Hatter, Dodo's ready for you." the elderly woman called out towards them. "Come on, don't keep him waiting!" she called out, walking back through the door. David and Hatter followed Owl, entering the dimly light room.

It was an office of sorts. The back walls were lined with shelves full of books, and the floor was filled with more piled up books. There were paintings on the walls, and a large tree grew against the corner of the room. Owl stood next to the tree, whilst Duck chose to stand by the door. At the back of the room, David could vaguely make out the outline of a large male stood in the shadows behind a large desk.

"Why are you here, Hatter?" the old man's voice grumbled out.

"This oyster here escaped from the scarab. He's looking for his brother, a Ryan Liddell," Hatter said to the man, "He needs help. I thought of you, Dodo."

Dodo stepped out of the shadows, and David could see his features more clearly. He was a large man, wearing a long black coat. His hair was short and dark, with small hints of grey here and there. "Really?" he asked, his voice heavy with mockery. "And why would I want to help your oyster, when you know that bringing him here puts us all at risk?"

Hatter rolled her eyes, not deterred by the man's tone. "Oh please," she started, "I've spent years smuggling much more dangerous things than this down here." She finished with a small glare towards the man.

Dodo gave a twisted smile. "You know what rankles most about blood-sucking carpetbaggers like you, Hatter?" he asked, making Hatter's eyes narrow. David was astounded at his name-calling, wondering if it was proper etiquette for men to insult women in Wonderland, "Your gall. While we risk our lives trying to bring freedom to ungrateful leeches like you, you swan about living the good life," he gave a small gesture to emphasise his point, mocking the girl.

"Stop your crowing!" Hatter snapped, annoyance evident in her tone. "You know I'm on your side."

Dodo gave him a scornful look, before turning to walk back to his desk. "I'm sure you say that to all your enemies."

Hatter snapped, her voice showing her obvious anger "I do what's necessary," she glared at him, pursing her lips, "I kiss what butts need kissing, so that your machine stays oiled!" The old man smirked at the anger that he had caused, obviously getting joy from being able to irritate Hatter.

David decided to interject, "Look, if he's not going to help me, I'll find someone else," he said to Hatter, looking down at her. He hoped that his little trick would work, and that they would stop bickering. He turned around, pretending to leave.

Dodo chuckled, "headstrong, isn't he?"

David spun around, glaring at the man. "Look, can you help me get Ryan out of the casino or not?" he asked.

"I don't see how," Dodo replied in a slightly sarcastic tone to the young man.

"The Resistance has contacts inside of the casino, right?" Hatter asked, already knowing that this was the case.

"No comment." That was a 'yes' then.

"Then use them to find his brother," Hatter told him, "He can pay you," Hatter said, quickly glancing up at David, silently telling him to go along with her lie. "But I want my usual cut... upfront."

David was confused, looking between the large man and the young woman. She didn't seem to be afraid of him. In fact, she didn't seem to show any fear at anything they had come across so far. Not the extreme heights, not the fact that she had two guns pointed at her, or the fact that she was currently trying to bargain with a man who was twice her size. All of the things that would pose as a threat to everyone else; things that would scare normal people, yet Hatter didn't seem bothered by any of it. Then again, she didn't seem that 'normal', either.

"Pay me? With what?" Dodo asked.

Hatter walked around David, quickly looking at him for anything that could be seem as valuable to this great big oaf. Then, it struck her. "Show him the rock, David."

His head snapped down to stare at her, "What?" he asked.

Hatter pointed to his neck, where he wore a chain. "The ring," On the end of the chain was a ring that his mother had given to him a few years ago, a 'family heirloom' as she called it. She believed that he would be able to keep it safe. David chose not to question her about what she wanted to keep it 'safe' from, but instead promised to wear it and make sure nothing happened to it.

No way in hell was David going to give it up.

"No," he refused, staring down at the woman, "That's off-limits," he protested.

"But it's all you have, David," she said, trying to convince the young man.

"No." he spat out, refusing to give it up. He had made a promise to his mother, and he didn't intend to break it.

Hatter was so focussed on David that she didn't notice Dodo moving closer. She did, however, notice when his hand reached out and grabbed the ring. He examined it closely, smiling slightly. David pushed the man's hand away, stepping backwards.

"It's not possible," Dodo whispered roughly, "Where did you get it?" he demanded to know.

"It's none of your business - It's not for sale." David spat out between his teeth, not caring how much the man wanted it.

"Where did you get it?" he shouted at David, stepping forwards. David stepped backwards once more, trying to think of the best way to defend himself if Dodo chose to attack him.

"What is it?" Hatter asked quietly, not knowing why the man was so enraged.

Dodo grabbed the ring once more, lifting it to show Hater. "Your oyster is wearing the original Stone of Wonderland," he spat out, his voice becoming louder and louder.

Hatter looked at the ring, her eyes wide. "That's impossible," she whispered out, "Where did you get it David?" she asked as Dodo dropped the ring once more.

"I was given it," David said through tight lips, not wanting to reveal where he got it from.

"By who?" Dodo spat out at the younger man, staring at him with cold eyes. Hatter stared at David in wonder, having never seen the ring before.

"A relative," he said quietly, backing further away from the larger male, glaring at him.

Dodo could see that he wasn't going to get a name out of him, so he decided to ask another question, "And where did they get it?" he said hoarsely, urging him to answer.

"I don't know!" David spat out, refusing to tell the man any more. This only fuelled Dodo's anger. David was surprised that the man wasn't foaming at the mouth by now.

"Give it to me!" Dodo ordered him, eyes focussed on the ring.

"No!" David shouted back just as loud, withdrawing slightly.

The old man spun around, walking back to his desk. "Take him out!" he ordered Owl. She immediately lifted her gun to face David's chest. David froze, stilled by his fear. He stared wide-eyed at the old lady, hoping that she didn't have the courage to shoot. David quickly glanced behind him to where Duck was stood, and saw the old man holding his own gun up at him with shaking hands.

"Are you crazy?" David called out, his voice raising an octave from fear.

Hatter slid between David and the gun, and even though he was out of harm's way, David wanted to stand in front of her to protect her from the old lady's shaking shotgun. He was still frozen in place, though, with his feet cemented to the floor.

"Stop!" Hatter called out, holding up a hand towards Owl, "Just wait."

"You're in way over your head, Hatter." Dodo told the girl, looking around his desk for something.

"Just give me one second to talk to him, okay?"

Dodo found what he was looking for – his own gun. He cocked it back, aiming it towards the two of them. Owl's shaking ceased, and David was pretty sure that the old lady was ready to pass out. Hatter stiffened, turning towards Dodo, eyes narrowed.

"It controls the Looking Glass... You know that," Dodo said to Hatter, trying to win her over.

Hatter looked at all of the people wielding guns, two of which were frozen stiff from fear. "Calm down," she ordered, trying to stay calm herself, "Put the guns away. I'm sure we can all get what we want here."

"Look, no-one is getting this ring," David said sternly, making Hatter turn towards him. She give him a look of desperation, but also a look that told him to shut the hell up.

Dodo stared at the two of them, eyes cold and hard, a look of determination set deeply into his features. Hatter put herself between the Dodo and David, her arm outstretched towards him to stop him from moving.

"We've been waiting years for a break like this, and now it falls into our laps!" Dodo hissed out through clenched teeth.

"Stop waving that thing around, you're scaring everyone!" Hatter shouted at him, moving backwards slowly. David raised his hands reflexively once more, moving backwards along with Hatter.

"If we return the oysters back to their world, maybe we can save ours," Dodo said in a trance-like voice, completely ignoring a word that Hatter said.

"Just put the gun down!" the young woman ordered, her voice growing louder.

"Just think about it!" Dodo started, "The Queen reduced to mopping floors!" he gasped out, smiling slightly as the image filled his mind. His eyes were wide and wild, his tone reflecting this. "It'll be just like old days! Justice, reason, and the rule of law!" He raised his gun towards Hatter.

"Stop this!" Hatter shouted out, grabbing the barrel of Dodo's gun to push it away. She was too late. The gun fired directly into her chest, sending her flying backwards and into a pile of books in the corner. David gasped, his mouth dropping. His eyes flew from the young woman, to look at Dodo. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man.

"You've shot Hatter!" Owl cried out in her Scottish accent, clutching her own gun. Her eyes were wide and frantic. Duck was frozen in place, and David wondered if he had stopped breathing all together.

"We don't need her any more," Dodo said, like he was completely unaffected by what he had just done, "We have the ring now. It's our ticket out of here!"

"You fucking bastard!" David screamed at the man, fury and rage completely filling him. He had killed Hatter. He had shot an innocent woman over a fucking ring. _A ring!_ He grabbed Dodo's arm, successfully pushing the gun out of his hands. He lifted his knee, hitting the man in the stomach, making him double over. He then straightened out his leg and kicked him in the jaw, making him fall back. Dodo grabbed onto David's jacket, pulling him to the floor, punching him hard in the face repeatedly.

Another shot suddenly rang out in the air, and everyone's head snapped up to look in the corner. There, Hatter could be seen, attempting to fight her way back onto her feet. In her right hand she held a small silver pistol, her left hand was planted on her chest over where she had been shot. David looked at her, noticing how her left hand was positioned close to her heart. He gasped, wondering why she had not been killed by the shot if it had hit her in one of her main organs.

"Get the fuck off of him," she ordered Dodo, moving closer to them. "Or believe me, the next one will be aimed at your head!"

Dodo rolled off of David, coming to stand up slowly, his arms raised. David rose to his knees, and then his feet, groaning in pain.

"Hatter," David gasped out, staring at the girl. She had now removed her hand from her chest, and she was glaring directly at Dodo. David looked closer at where she had been shot, but he could only see a small trace of blood. He moved closer to her, looking back to make sure that Dodo wasn't going to pounce on him.

Hatter motioned her head towards the open door, "Go!" she ordered David, her pistol still aimed at Dodo, not an ounce of fear on her face. David was about to refuse, not wanting to leave her here, but he then noticed that she was slowly backing towards the door as well.

"Look, Hatter," Dodo started, trying to reason with the girl and make her stop backing off, "This is a game changer. I'll give you three times your normal price. Five. Ten. You name it!" His plan failed, however, as they were still retreating backwards.

"Back. Off." Hatter spat out, moving closer to the man to point the gun directly at his head. "Don't think I won't do it, Dodo. You know as well as I do that I don't even need this gun," she said, glaring menacingly at the larger man. He seemed to cower away from her this time, taking a step backwards. David wondered what she meant when she said that she didn't need the gun, but he chose not to question her.

"If you let him leave with the ring, I'll have every member of the Resistance hunting you down." Dodo threatening, attempting to scare the girl. She smirked at him, chuckling lightly to herself.

"What? You think that scares me?" She asked, making Dodo's confidence falter. "David, get on the bus," Hatter ordered him.

"But-"

"Now!" she ordered, still aiming the gun at the man who shot her. David slowly began to retreat down the hallway, feeling helpless. He didn't want to leave her, but he had faith that she knew what she was doing. He quickly ran towards the bus, waiting for Hatter to follow him.

"Stay here. Do not follow us. Don't even think about it. If you move one step, I'll pull the trigger," Hatter threatened, her dark tone emphasising her words. She slowly began to retreat back, the gun still aimed at his head. As she was halfway through the door, she quickly spun around and began to run down the hall towards the bus.

Dodo decided to follow her orders, being too scared to dare to do otherwise. Hatter reached the bus, ordering David to press the blue button. As the bus began to rise, she collapsed into the nearest seat, gasping for breath.

"How did you do that?" David asked her, still staring at where she had been shot. Although there was a few specks of dark blood on her dress, there was no bullet wound to be seen. He stepped closer to her, examining the area.

Hatter chuckled to herself, "Don't ask." David continued to look at where she had been shot in bewilderment. Hatter shifted her dress to the side to show him...

But there wasn't anything there. No wound. No blood. No armour. No proof that she had actually been shot.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at the girl. He was confused, but he could feel his knees grow weak from relief that she was perfectly fine.

"I'll tell you another time," she simply said, sitting up from her seat. The bus continued to rise, the everlasting groan of the old machine growing louder. David stared at her, wondering what secrets she was keeping from him. It's not normal for a young woman to be shot in her heart and then have no proof of any wound, is it? It's also not normal for a 5'2" to strike fear into a man who was practically double her size. Then again, nothing seemed to be _'normal'_ in Wonderland...

David's thoughts then turned bitter, "Why did you try to sell my ring?" he asked her, glaring at her slightly.

Hatter smiled meekly up at David, "I didn't know it was the Stone of Wonderland, did I?" she replied weakly, not really having a valid argument at this point. "I was trying to help!"

"Helping doesn't involve selling someone's possessions without actually telling them of your plan first," he shot back, still glaring at her.

"I'm sorry, okay? I should have told you. I should have asked." she apologised, grimacing up at him.

"If you'd have told me the plan first, we probably wouldn't have been in that mess in the first place." he said, sitting down on one of the seats, still glaring at the girl, "he tried to kill me!"

Hatter rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well he actually shot me!" she replied back with a small grimace.

David looked over at her, suddenly forgetting all of his previous anger. She had indeed been shot, and it was because of him. His expression softened, as did his voice. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she nodded, smiling at him. "Are you okay?"

David nodded, groaning slightly at the sudden ache that shot through his neck. Hatter looked over to him, standing up suddenly and walking to stand beside him. "Don't lie to me, David. I'm not dumb," she commented. "Where does it hurt?" she asked him, glancing over his body to check for obvious wounds.

"It doesn't matter," David commented back, looking up at the young woman. He could see that her eyes were a slightly lighter shade of blue than they had been earlier, and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. She rolled her eyes at him, reaching out and placing her hand gently on his shoulder. A warm sensation flooded David's body, and he slowly felt all of the pain from his previous attack begin to fade away. He gazed up at her in amazement, wondering what she had done. "What-"

Hatter interrupted him, "Don't ask." she simply said, turning towards the door as the bus came to a stop. "You coming?" she called back as he sat there, dumbfounded.

He quickly followed her off the bus and once again onto a narrow ledge. The walked in silence for a short while, before David spoke up. "Um, I guess I should probably say thank you," he asked, not sure of what he was meant to say.

"Don't mention it," Hatter smiled up at him, shrugging lightly.

"Tell me about the Stone of Wonderland. What is it, anyway? And why does Dodo want it so badly?" David asked, hoping that he wasn't prying.

Hatter continued walking, winding her way through the ledges while David followed close by. "It's kind of a big deal," she started, unsure of how to explain it to the oyster, "It was mined by the ancient knights to power the Looking Glass – the door that connects our world to yours."

"Ancient knights?"

"They were wiped out a long time ago by the Queen," Hatter said sadly, grimacing to herself, "She took the Looking Glass and the Stone of Wonderland..." she explained.

"But, why?" David asked, wanting her to tell him more about his ring.

"She uses the Looking Glass to steal people from your world... She uses them. Drains them of all their emotions at the casino. They then pass the bottled emotions onto me, and I sell them to the public." she said quietly, obviously partially blaming herself for this, "I guess it's kind of her way of controlling the masses. Keep them happy and there's no conflict."

David blanched. "Wait," he said suddenly, "My brother's at the casino," he whispered out, a sudden hint of fear in his voice, "Are they gonna drain him?"

"Well, if they chose your brother specifically and he wasn't put into the scarab, then I'm guessing they have a use for him other than emotion tea..." she trailed off as she noticed his distressed expression, "Hey," she nudged him, smiling up at him, "We'll get him back. It's gonna be okay."

"Why do you have the ring, anyway?" Hatter asked him once they had begun to walk again.

"My mother gave it to me," he admitted, feeling as if he could trust her with this information, "Told me it was a 'family heirloom'" he said, noticing how her eyebrow raised.

"I see," she said simply, unsure of what the respond with.

"So, if the Looking Glass is the only way to get me home, then we're gonna have to find Ryan and then the Looking Glass..." David thought out loud, making Hatter stop in her tracks.

"How do you expect to do that?" she asked, staring at him, as if expecting his next words.

"I'll use the ring to negotiate with the Queen to get my brother back," he said simply, attempting to continue walking down the ledge.

Hatter's hand shot out, halting his movement. She grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face her. "No," she said simply, staring up at his face. "You can't negotiate with the Queen. She's crazy. It's suicide!" she said, her voice raising slightly towards the end.

"I'm not just going to abandon my brother!" he said sternly, narrowing his eyes at her.

She pursed her lips, "I didn't tell you to leave him, did I?" she asked, cocking her head, smiling inwardly as his expression softened slightly, "I just need to think of another plan... I think we should go back to the Tea House and regroup. I'll plan our next move from there," she told him, turning the corner to go in the direction of the Tea House. David decided to put his trust in Hatter, in the hopes that she would help lead him to find his brother.

They carried on walking, winding their way through the streets until they reached Hatter's tea shop. The two of them rounded the corner, where Hatter quickly pulled David down behind the telephone box. "Shh," she put her finger to her lips, motioning for him to stay quiet. She pointed her finger in the direction of the doors to the shop, where a group of suits could clearly be seen. There was also someone with a large white rabbit's head for a head, which made Hatter raise an eyebrow.

The man with the rabbit head was talking to someone, and it seemed that it was going no where. Suddenly, he lifted the man up, and launched him over the edge. The man's screams could be heard as he fell the great distance. David was shocked, his mouth wide open. Another man in a long black robe was stood talking to Ratty. He wished that he could move closer to find out what they were talking about. Whatever it was, the man seemed to be asking some pretty serious questions from the way Ratty was reacting.

"You work with rats long enough, and you turn into one, huh?" Hatter said, glaring in Ratty's direction.

David was still looking at the rabbit head, "Who- What is that?" he asked.

Hatter shrugged slightly, "I have no idea. It's nothing I've ever seen before," she said quietly, squinting her eyes to try and get a closer look at the man, "I don't recognize him," she muttered. Suddenly, the rabbit's head snapped in their direction, and Hatter bobbed down even further. She could hear it's feet start to move, and the other men follow it.

"We'll have to go somewhere else before they see us. If they catch us, we're done for," Hatter tried to explain, quickly standing up. She grabbed David's hand, pulling him to stand up with her. She quickly began to move towards the edge of another building, where another pathway was, pulling on David's arm to make him move faster. He was confused as to what the thing was that was following them. Hatter didn't seem to know who it was either. Heavy footsteps filled the air as the men followed after the two of them, their loud shouts echoing through the air, making Hatter and David speed up.


	4. Beware the Jabberwock, My Son!

Note: I'm finding it quite... odd to talk about Hatter as a female, so if I write 'he' or 'him' in reference to Hatter, please forgive me.  
>Also, I'd like to thank you all for reading my story and I'd like to give a special thanks to those who have reviewed. I really appreciate your feedback.<br>I'd also like to thank _Miss Mousey Black_ for giving me the idea for the title of this story. :)  
>Enjoy.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Beware the Jabberwock, My Son!<strong>  
>David could hear the sound of the men's footsteps becoming louder as they gained on the two of them.<p>

"What? What is it? Who are they?" David questioned Hatter as they turned a corner, trying to keep up with her brisk pace.

"They're suits," she said, panting for breath, "I don't know what that other thing is," she commented in a confused tone. She paused, looking quickly behind her. The suits rounded the corner, the strange man with the rabbit head in front. She guessed he was sort of their 'leader'. "We should run," she said, noticing how the men were gaining on them. "Run!" she shouted, pumping her legs faster to speed up, dragging David along with her.

David joined her pace, trying to escape from the men. Hatter told him to move quicker as they rounded another corner, both of them now running as fast as they could. Hatter grabbed David's arm, pulling him through an old worn building that looked like it was about to collapse.

The two of them ran to the edge of a large canal, "That way!" Hatter ordered, running down the grassy banks. "Down here," she called, "I have a smuggling boat," she explained over her shoulder. She headed down to the dock and hopped into the small boat, beckoning for David to hurry up and join her.

Hopping in, David began to untie the line that attached the boat to the dock, his frantic fingers working quickly as Hatter ran up to the motor. She pulled on the engine cord, trying to bring the boat to life. It spluttered slightly, but did not start. "Hang on, there's a knack to this," she muttered, pulling the line hard again, but it still would not start, "Which apparently, I never learnt," she mumbled to herself in an annoyed voice.

Hatter ran up to the front seat of the boat, sitting behind the wheel and turning the key frantically. "Come on, you stupid thing," she muttered, twisting the key repeatedly. David stood, moving over to the motor. He opened the cover up, pulling the cord as hard as he could. The engine roared to life as Hatter turned the key once more. "Yes!" she shouted joyfully, throwing the throttle all the way forward. David stumbled slightly, falling into one of the seats on the boat. Looking back, he could see the suits and the man with the rabbit head standing on the bank, staring at them as they escaped.

"You okay?" Hatter asked over the loud roar of the engine. She quickly glanced back at David, checking that there he was fine.

David nodded, standing up unsteadily. He climbed into the seat next to her, sitting down quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, casting his eyes around him to look at his surroundings.

They were no longer surrounded by huge buildings, and the industrial feel of the city was fading slowly. Out into the distance, David could start to see a line of trees, which he presumed was a forest.

The two of them sat there in silence for a little while, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Hatter was trying to figure out who the strange man with the rabbit head was, and how he could so carelessly throw a grown man off the edge of a bridge. David was also thinking about that as well... until his mind flashed to more important matters.

"Where is the casino?" he asked Hatter, turning to look at her. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes slightly. She looked quickly to her side, where David was sat, before casting her eyes back to look forward.

"I've already told you," she muttered out through tight lips, "You can't negotiate with the Queen." David turned to face forward, crossing his arms stubbornly. "But," Hatter said in a lighter tone, which grabbed David's attention. He turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue, "The while rabbit is a whole different kettle of onions..."

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps they'll do a deal," she continued, "It's a long shot, but it's the only one we've got," David narrowed his eyes slightly. So, she didn't actually have a solid plan? It was then that he noticed that she wasn't just talking about him any more.

"We?" he asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. "What do you mean 'we'?"

Hatter stayed silent for a moment, seeming to think about what she was about to say before she said it. She kept her eyes forward, looking out into the distance. Taking a deep breath, she turned her eyes to look at David quickly, before moving them back to look at the water, "I don't know if you've noticed, but my shop was ransacked," she explained, grimacing slightly. David felt a pang of guilt run through him. It was his fault that she had been brought into this mess. If it wasn't for him, she would still have her shop, her job, and she wouldn't have been shot or hurt.

"I'm homeless," she carried on, "I'm a target... Not only for the suits, but for the Resistance as well. There's only so many places in Wonderland that I can hide." She paused before continuing, "Nobody would help me, you know?" the question sounded rhetorical to David, "Most people fear me. Those who don't fear me just want to use me for their own gain. Many people have tried to kill me..." She gave a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood, "Of course, their attempts have all failed."

David blinked, trying to process this information. This small woman with the brown pork pie hat was feared by most people in Wonderland? A part of him found this hard to believe, but he then thought back to what had previously happened. Ratty didn't seem to want to get on the wrong side of her, and the elderly pair seemed to be slightly afraid of what she could do. And Dodo... he tried to scare her; tried to make her give in, but she just turned it around on him. She was indeed a very feared person, but he didn't understand why. To him, she looked pretty innocent, but then again, everyone has their secrets, don't they?

"So, I guess I'll just go along with you," she said, smiling at him slightly. "I can probably find somewhere new to live, and if all else fails, I'll just come back with you... to your world." she finished in a quite voice, biting her lip slightly.

David was about to reply to her, when a loud rumble filled the air. He quickly spun around, as did Hatter, looking behind them to see what was causing the noise. It should have been obvious, of course. It was a scarab, flying towards them.

"Before we do anything, we have to shake that royal flush," Hatter stated, turning around quickly and shoving the throttle down and pushing the engine hard to gain more speed. David didn't see how this tiny little boat could out-do a huge jet. Hatter turned the boat quickly, heading for the nearest shore.

The shore was thickly lined with trees and shrubbery. David stared at the forest in amazement. It was nothing like he had seen in Wonderland before, having gotten used to the huge buildings and the great drops. Hatter drove the boat to the ground, slowing it down so it just gently bumped it. She shut off the engine, quickly jumping out of the boat and grabbing the anchor line. She tied it off quickly, before calling for David to grab some large branches.

"Help me cover it," she told him simply, grabbing large branches and leaves and placing them over the boat. They both worked quickly, and eventually the boat was masked from sight. David walked up the bank, moving deeper into the trees. Hatter followed him, panting lightly. "I don't know who that freak is that's's leading the posse," she commented, trying to regain her breath, "But he's got one hell of a nose for blood..." she came to stand next to David, looking around slowly as a distant cry could be heard in the corner, "And this is the place to find it."

David's eyes grew wide at the noise. It certainly didn't sound human, and it sure as hell didn't sound like any animal he'd ever come across... He gulped, "What was that?" he asked, not even trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"There's things in these woods that defy imagination," she said in a slightly grim tone. David looked at her, noticing the determined expression on her face. She started forward, beckoning for David to follow. "Come on," she said, "We haven't got much time." David stood there, looking up at her as she carried on walking up the hill. She noticed that he wasn't following her, and she twisted around slowly, gazing down at him. "What?" she asked, wondering why he was still stood there.

"Tell me what's going on," he demanded to know, eyes still wide.

"David, we can't shake the posse," she started, trying to reason with him, "and we can't fight them all, either." That was true. There was only two of them, and whatever secrets Hatter was keeping, he doubted she had the ability to attack over 10 grown men and a... rabbit. "So, there's only one thing left to try."

"What's that?"

"Lead them into a trap," she said simply. Of course, that's a plausible plan, David thought. He wondered what kind of trap she had in mind. It couldn't be that great, considering there was only two of them and they had very little time to set the trap up.

Hatter quickly turned away, walking onwards, and David ran up the hill to catch up with her. The two of them continued walking forwards, weaving their way through the large trees. Strange noises could be heard, and Hatter continued to listen out for something. David didn't know what, though.

Hatter began to slow down slightly, "Keep your breathing shallow," she told David quietly, coming to stop near a large tree. A loud cry could be heard, much like the one they had heard before, only this time it was much louder. This indicated that whatever was making the noise was closer than it was before. David's eyes dodged around, trying to locate the sound.

"What was that?" he whispered, coming to a halt next to Hatter. For the first time since he'd met her, Hatter seemed to show a little bit of fear. This only made David feel worse.

"Yeah, you should find a tree you can climb," Hatter advised quietly, eyes darting around the forest.

David stared at her, "What? Why?" he questioned quickly, confused as to what was going on. Why did he need to climb a tree? He doubted that he could do so anyway, as all of the trees around them weren't exactly climbable. They all had thin branches towards the bottom, and about half way up, they started to thicken out.

Hatter turned to David, looking up at him. "The trap we talked about?" she started, "Yeah, this is it." she explained promptly, "I'm the bait – Go!" She started to walk forward, motioning for David to go in the opposite direction. David stared at her confused, before ignoring her orders and following her quickly.

"Wait – what is it?" he questioned quickly, not sure he wanted to know.

Hatter stopped, and David ran to her side, waiting for her answer. "It's a Jabberwock."

"What?" he asked, his eyes growing even wider. David gulped. He understood that Wonderland was real, but he didn't expect the creatures to be real as well.

"David, less of the questions, just get going!" she told him quickly, pushing him away. She turned quickly, walking towards the sound of the creature's cries once more.

"Are you out of your mind?" he questioned her, grabbing her arm to stop her walking forwards, "You can't use yourself as bait!" He turned her around to face him, staring into her eyes as he tried to reason with her. She may have been able to survive a gunshot, but he doubted she'd be able to survive a mauling from a bloodthirsty creature.

"I'm gonna lead it to the posse once it gets a good look of me, now, will you please just go?" she turned to him, her voice rising.

"What? So that's your plan?" he said, staring down at her. No way in hell was he leaving her here to be eaten.

Hatter was starting to get annoyed, "Look, can you ju-" A loud roar rang through the forest, echoing off the trees. Both of them froze in fear, hearing loud, heavy footsteps from behind them. The ground shook with every step, the loud thudding literally shaking them to the bone. They both spun around in unison, both going wide-eyed at the creature before them.

It was just like Tenniel's illustrations that David had seen when he read the book as a child. A large, scaly dragon body with huge wings and legs. A long tail swung behind it as it thudded it's way closer. A large round head with huge eyes and giant teeth was attached to a long neck. It stopped, it's hand wrapping around a close tree, it's razor-sharp claws digging into the bark.

Both of them couldn't take their eyes off of it. The Jabberwock then swung it's head towards the two of them, letting out a huge, bellowing roar. "Run!" Hatter commanded David, turning to her left and running as fast as her legs could carry her. David obeyed her immediately, shooting off through the trees like a rocket. However, instead of following Hatter, he ran in the opposite direction.

The creature decided that David would be better meal than the small Hatter, and quickly ran after the young man. Once David realised this, he pushed his legs harder, refusing to look back at the creature. Exhaustion was quickly setting in, and all David wanted was to collapse against a tree and give in, but he refused to do so, instead choosing to run faster.

Hatter spun around when she heard the creature's roars becoming distant, expecting to see David beside her. This was not the case. She did, however, see a huge Jabberwock chasing the young David through the trees in the opposite direction in which she was running. "David!" she called out, running after him as fast as her short legs could carry her.

David heard Hatter shouting his name behind him, but he could not catch his breath to shout back. He wanted to tell her to leave him, and to run away, but could not find the air or energy to speak the words. David weaved his way through the trees, trying to throw the Jabberwock off course, but his plan wasn't working.

His boot suddenly caught on a fallen log, and he fell to the ground with a large thud. He could feel the creature behind him, and he turned over slowly, coming face-to-face with the large, bulbous head of the Jabberwock. The poem flashed in his mind -"The jaws that bite, the claws that catch." This creature sure as hell had jaws that could bite, and it was trying to do so right now.

He tried to scramble away, pushing himself as far back against a tree as he could. The idiotic creature had wedged itself between two large trees, and it's face was currently only a few feet away from his. It roared in his face, and David's eyes grew wide from fear as it tried to squirm it's way closer to him.

In the distance, he could see Hatter running towards them, a look of determination on her face. "David!" she shouted as she slid to a halt next to the Jabberwock. It roared at her, making her jump back sharply. She regained her balance, before lifting her leg and kicking the creature in one of it's enormous eyes. It flinched back in pain, crying out distressingly.

She quickly grabbed David's arm and pulled him to hit feet, pulling him away from the creature. He stumbled, trying to keep up with her. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath them and they both fell down a huge pit. Hatter fell with a loud shriek, narrowly missing being impaled on a sharp wooden spike. She heard David's grunt next to her as he landed on the cold ground. The fall had knocked the air out of him, making him struggle to catch his breath.

"Ow" he grunted in pain again, "You okay?" David asked her once he had gained his breath.

"Just about," she replied back, looking over at him.

David heard a large bang above them, and looking up, he saw the shadow of the creature looming over the two of them, it's head only a few feet away. It growled at them, before trying to take a bite. Instead of getting a bite of them, though, it impaled it's large jaw on one of the spikes. It snapped it's head back quickly with a cry of pain, briskly retreating away with an angered roar.

Hatter sat upwards, trying to shuffle closer to David, trying to avoid the spikes in the process. "You okay?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. David nodded his head, assuring the girl that he was okay.

"Vermin!" a loud voice shouted from above. They both snapped their heads up. "Saboteurs! Anarchists!" the old man shouted. Hatter squinted, tilting her head to the side in confusion. David's eyes went wide as he stared up at the man. He was old, looking to be around the age of eighty. He had white a long, wispy white heard and moustache which had an amazing curl, but that wasn't the most shocking thing. No, this man was wearing a full suit of armour. David lifted an eyebrow as the man continued, "I was this close to catching him!" the man went on, holding his hands up to emphasise. Looking down at his hands, he thought about it for a moment, before making the gap between them wider, "this close!" he shouted. He dropped his hands to his sides, glaring down at the two of them. "Degenerate bag-heads!"

Hatter narrowed her eyes at the old man, "Look are you gonna just stand there and babble on, or are you going to help us out of here?" she questioned, raising her voice at the man. He continued to glare down at them, before walking off swiftly. Hatter looked over to David, shrugging her shoulders, before raising slowly to her feet. David did the same, dusting himself off once he was standing. A few moments later, the old man came back. He threw down a thick rope to them, still glaring.

David motioned for Hatter to go first, and she did so. She grabbed hold of the rope, but before she climbed it, she turned around and narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't look up my dress," she warned, making David smile slightly. He hadn't intended to do so. Hatter started to climb up the rope, showing no signs of exhaustion from the run. Once she had reached the top, she crouched down on her knees, motioning for David to climb up. He did so, with more difficulty than her. Once he reached the top, he collapsed on the ground, wanting to lie there and just let his exhaustion take over.

Hatter stood up and stared at the old man. He was still staring at them, his white beard twitching slightly in annoyance. David rose to his feet, standing besides Hatter. He looked down at her, noticing her confused expression.

"Subverters!" he cried out, walking towards them. He was still glaring, annoyance clear on his face. "Pig-pushing flecks!" He clenched his fists angrily, "Bug bashers!"

"Who the hell are you?" David snapped, having had enough of the man's name-calling.

The man drew himself to stand tall, marching towards them. "I am a knight!" he called out proudly, coming to stop in front of the two of them, "The white knight to be precise," David stared at his armour. It was quite worn, having bits of metal stuck over it in many of it's repairs. He guessed that it was meant to be white, but it looked more of a faded grey covered in rust. "Sir Charles Eustace Fotheringale Malvois the third," he announced proudly, holding his head high. He stared down at them, making an odd face, before asking "And who are you?"

"I'm David Liddell," he said, staring at the old man.

"Liddell?" he man asked, moving closer to him. His armour clanged as he moved, "Liddell?" he asked again, studying David's face closely, as if trying to find a trace of the original 'Alice in Legend' in there, "From the Liddell family?"

David rolled his eyes, having had enough of people's reaction to his name. "No, I'm just David..." he trailed off as he noticed the man's confusion and disappointment.

"I thought all you guys were wiped out years ago?" Hatter asked, drawing the knight back and changing the subject.

"Well, you thought wrong!" he said to her smugly, "As you can see, I'm as fit as a butcher's dog!" he announced, hitting his hands against his chest, giving out a small cough from the impact.

"Are there any others like you?" Hatter asked interestedly.

The knight chuckled, "Certainly not!" he answered, turning around and walking off, "I'm a one-off. My nan used to say that if I were the only eligible bachelor left in the world," he paused, picking up a large shovel, "then there wasn't a warthog or wallflower who'd polish my escutcheon" He chuckled again, laughing at his own joke.

Hatter furrowed her brows, "No, I mean are there any other knights in these woods?" she elaborated, "Your... comrades in arms?"

The knight gave her an incredulous look, "Heavens no! Are you mad? We were all wiped out years ago," he told her with a slight chuckle.

David scrunched up his face in confusion, glancing down at the pit they had just been pulled out of. "Wait, you dug that pit on your own?" he asked, pointing at the pit and looking into the knight's eyes.

The knight dropped his shovel, stalking over to where the two of them were stood, "Now let me tell you something, you knug face, youth is vastly overrated. I may have put on a few years, but I'm crafty. I've a very inventive and calculating mind stacked high with ground breaking, state of the art ideas. I invent all sorts of things!" he paused, glancing off into the distance. Hatter and David stared at the man like he had gone mad, "The beehive mousetrap, for instance," he said proudly, "This here pit, as you so rudely called it, is my third attempt at the Gravity Assistated Snare, Mark IV" the old knight finished, glaring slightly at David. He then suddenly turned and wandered away, seeming to be interested in something else.

Hatter turned to David, looking up at him, "He's mad as a box of frogs," she turned towards the knight once more, and rudely asked, "How the Hell have you survived?"

The knight turned round, holding out his hands as if to silence Hatter. He listened hard for something, before quickly snapping his head towards Hatter. "Hm?" he asked, staring at the young woman, "Oh yes, I'm a knight," he said proudly, standing up straight with a charming smile on his face, chuckling lightly to himself, "And I'm an inventor, as I said. Though, if I'm honest, it's strictly on a part-time basis." he finished, walking passed them and stopping by Hatter.

"You don't say?" Hatter mumbled sarcastically.

"And I dabble in the Black Arts now and then..." he whispered for effect, "Soothsaying... toenail readings..." David and Hatter gave a disgusted face, "That sort of thing." the man stared into the distance once more, before snapping back to reality. He turned towards David, "Here, let me show you, give me your palm-"

He reached for his hand, "I'm okay, mate, really," David protested, pulling his hand away. The knight simply stared up at him in disappointment, having wanted to show off his skills to these two young people. The knight then noticed something shining below David's neck, and that suddenly grabbed his attention. He reached out his bony hand slowly towards the ring, seeming transfixed. David stepped back, shoving the ring under his shirt.

"What's that on your chain?" Sir Charles asked, eyes focussed on the spot where the ring had been. Hatter tensed, moving closer towards David.

"It's nothing," David said, trying to shake off the man's interest, even though he could tell that he already knew what it was. The knight's jaw fell with amazement as he lifted his eyes to look at David.

"It's the sacred ring," he enthused, "The original Stone of Wonderland... _Our_ ring!" He moved closer to David, wanting to see the ring again. David stepped back, and Hatter moved forward, placing her hand on the knight's chest to stop him from moving any further.

"Don't get too excited, Granddad," she warned, "The ring stays around his neck, okay?" she said firmly, staring at the old knight. Sir Charles turned away, dropping to his knees and placing his hands together, as if praying.

"It is meant to be!" he exclaimed joyfully with his eyes closed. David and Hatter looked at him like he had finally lost it, "This time, this place, this meeting in the woods!" he continued, mumbling incoherently.

Hatter turned, grabbing David's hand and pulling him away. "Okay, we need to get away from him before he gets us killed," she commented, walking away.

David stopped her easily, "Wait, maybe he can help us." Hatter looked up at him like he had gone insane.

"Have you forgotten about the weirdo that's tailing us?" she questioned. David's mind flashed back to the guys that were after them. He was still unsure of why they were actually being followed. Had they discovered he wasn't from this world? Maybe they'd just mistook him for someone else... "This freak-show," she gestured towards the old knight, "is gonna draw his attention for sure."

He looked down at Hatter, before looking towards the knight, "This knight has survived out here alone... maybe he knows a thing or two," he offered. Hatter shook her head, but David ignored her. He walked over to the knight, gently tapping his shoulder. "Listen, Sir Charles, we have some very bad men following us who want to kill us and steal the ring," Hatter stood in the background, silently glaring at David, placing her hands on her hips stubbornly, "Do you know anywhere where we can lay low for a while?"

The knight seemed to ignore her, instead answering her with "The stars are aligned in a cosmic array of hope!"

"And you want to put your faith in _him_?" Hatter asked cocking an eyebrow.

David huffed, "Yes," before turning around to face Hatter, "I know he might be nuts and a hundred and fifty years old, and dressed like a car crash, but he's a survivor."

"And I'm not deaf," the old knight cut in, jumping to his feet. He turned to face the two of them, "David Liddell," he started, making David raise an eyebrow, "I will be honoured to escort you, your goods, and..." he turned to glare slightly in Hatter's direction, obviously deciding that he wasn't that fond of her right now, "Vassal... to my sacred kingdom." He finished with a bow.

Hatter turned towards David, feeling slightly insulted, "Did he just call me a vessel?"

"Vassal," David corrected her dismissively, turning to face the old knight once again. "Thank you for your kindness, Sir Charles. I am ever so grateful." he told him, giving a slight bow in response. Hatter was still staring into the distance, an annoyed look on her face. The knight rose, picking up his things. David turned towards Hatter, staring down at her irritated face. "What is it?"

"_Vassal_..." she mumbled, scrunching up her face in annoyance, "Senile old man," she went on to mumble, walking off to help Sir Charles.

David joined her, following the knight, who was walking towards two horses. He turned around suddenly, gesturing to the brown coloured mare on his right, "This is Guinevere," he lovingly petted the mare's head, "You shall be riding on her," he said to David.

"Thank you again, Sir Charles." David said to the knight in response, walking up to pet the mare.

"It's my pleasure," he said with a small smile. He turned to his own horse and mounted him, waiting for David and Hatter to mount Guinevere. David grabbed the reins, pulling himself up to mount the horse. He had taken a few horse-riding lessons as a young boy in England, and he could remember the basics. He just hoped it would be enough, and that the mare wouldn't go haywire on him. He held out his hand to Hatter, offering it to her. She grasped a hold of it and swung herself up, tucking her legs behind his.

They moved at a steady pace, the two of them trailing Charlie's horse. The knight had insisted that they call him Charlie, saying that he disliked being addressed as 'Sir Charles' all the time. Charlie had attached a device to the back of Guinevere, saying that it would "get rid of the tracks". Looking behind them, Hatter could see that the tracks were indeed vanishing, and new shoots of grass were growing in their place. It looked like they had never travelled over it.

"Huh... It even works over mud. It's wiping the tracks clean away," Hatter commented quietly in awe. "Maybe Senile Sam does have a trick or two up his... Um, escutcheon."

David smiled, not having the energy to speak.

They carried on like that for a while, travelling onwards in silence. Well, the two of them did, anyway. Charlie, on the other hand, decided to sing over and over again the whole time they were travelling. Rounds of "Hey nonny-nonny," rang through the air, slightly irritating Hatter.

Finally, Charlie came to a stop, motioning for the two of them to stop as well. David halted Guinevere, leaning forward to see what the knight was showing him. Charlie drew back the branches of a tree, "Welcome..." he started grandly, "To the Kingdom of the Knights."

Through the hole that Charlie had created, Hatter and David could see a lavish land, filled with ruins and statues covered in vines and overgrowth.

"Well, what do you know?" Hatter spoke softly, awe clear in her tone.

They moved through the city, both Hatter and David looking around them in awe at the beautiful scenery before them. Charlie led them to a wooden area, where a pathway had been cleared down the centre. On one side, there was a huge knight statue, on the other, a bishop.

Charlie dismounted from his horse, choosing to go the rest of the way on foot. Hatter hopped off the back on Guinevere, David quickly doing the same. Charlie began to walk down the pathway, motioning for the two of them to follow him.

"Before the war with the Queen of Hearts, this was once the greatest city in the realm," Charlie spoke up, breaking the peaceful silence that they had fallen in to. "The Red King and his elected council ruled Wonderland with the wisdom of the ages."

"And the hearts destroyed everything?" David asked in wonder, wanting to know more of this place's history. He cast his eyes around, taking in the large trees and structures that surrounded them. Hatter walked beside him in silence, listening closely to what Charlie had to say.

"We lived in harmony for a thousand years," Charlie went on softly, a hint of sorrow in his voice, "But when the Queen came to power, she just wanted to feel the good... Not the bad." Charlie looked at them with a forlorn look on his face, before motioning for them to follow him once more. They entered a clearing, where Charlie stopped, gazing ahead. "Believe it or not, this was once the throne room."

This 'room' was not actually a room. It was a large area, with basic items to live with. A bathtub, hammock, small bed, fire pit, hell, there was even a clothes line... But nothing here indicated that this had previously been a room.

"Sadly, all that's left now is the throne," Charlie commented, motioning towards where a large thrown sat. The Red King sat on his throne. He was merely a bunch of bones with a crown on it's head. David grimaced at the sight, a sudden hint of sorrow filling him even though he had not known the man.


	5. Secrets and Stories

Note: Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this story. I finished my exams a few weeks ago so now that I have more free time on my hands, you can expect a lot more updates!  
>Enjoy.<p>

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><p><strong>Secrets<br>**He looked around at the trees that surrounded him, squinting in the darkness to try and see where he was going. His feet became tangled amongst the grass, making him trip and stumble along the way. He heard a faint crowing in the distance, and he jumped at the sound as it cut through the silence. His heart pounded against his rib cage, and adrenaline pumped through his veins as he heard a twig snap somewhere behind him. His head snapped up at the sound. He spun around quickly, squinting into the distance to try and make out what was there.

'It was probably just a small animal... That's it, probably a mouse or something,' he thought to himself, turning back around. He heard another snap, and then another, and another. Without thinking, he shot forward, his feet pumping hard and fast as he ran. He didn't know what was behind him, but he wasn't sticking around to find out. He tried his best to avoid the trees in front of him, attempting not to trip on any fallen logs. His breath came out in quick, short gasps as he tried to regain his breath back.

He carried on running, trying to listen out for something. There was nothing though. Only the sound of twigs and leaves crunching beneath his pounding feet and his own frantic breathing could be heard. Once he had travelled what he thought was a considerable distance away from where he was, he slid to a halt, looking around once more.

He was exhausted. He could feel his body begin to shut down, but looking around, he could find no place to rest his head. He walked a little further forward, trying to find somewhere that he could sleep in safety. He noticed a tree that looked like he would be able to climb it. Moving closer to the tree, he noticed that the thicker branches were a little too high for him, but he decided to climb it anyway.

Leaning down low, he looked up at one of the branches in determination. He thrust his legs hard, trying to gain more power as he jumped up. Reaching up with both hands, he grabbed hold of the branch as best he could, and he began to pull himself up. Looking back down at the ground, he decided that he was still too low down to feel safe enough. Glancing up, he saw a small canopy with large, wide branches. He began to climb the tree higher and higher, wanting to reach the canopy.

Once he was safely there, he attempted to get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can be whilst resting on a hard tree branch. He was around 20ft up when he finally felt safe enough to sleep. He gazed up at the moon as his mind wandered to what he was going to do tomorrow... 'Probably carry on running,' he thought to himself sarcastically.

He finally let his exhaustion take over, letting his heavy eyelids finally close as he drifted off into a less-than-peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>David set on the hard floor next to the fire, waiting for Charlie to finish cooking the meal he had prepared. He was still unsure as to what exactly he was going to eat, but he trusted Charlie to pick out something that tasted good.<p>

Hatter sat across from him on a large log, staying uncharacteristically quiet. She had a content look on her face as she gazed upwards into the stars. David chose this moment to study her features more closely. The shadow of the flames from the fire danced across her pale skin, creating a soft glow about her. Her face had a few freckles here and there, and he noticed how her deep blue eyes seemed to shine as she gazed upwards. His eyes were suddenly drawn towards her lips, where she gently pulled one of them between her teeth, biting on it softly. David's jaw practically dropped at the innocent action.

Hatter snapped her head back down quickly as Charlie shouted that the meal was ready, and David quickly shot his eyes in Charlie's direction, trying to mask his slight blush at the fact that he had almost been caught staring at the girl. Hatter raised an eyebrow as she noticed the soft pink flush in David's cheeks, but the growling of her stomach quickly drew her attention elsewhere.

"I'm afraid that I only have one plate available," Charlie said apologetically as he walked over and handed the plate of meat to Hatter. She smiled thankfully up at him, nodding her head in appreciation.

"It's okay Charlie," David said, "You've done more than enough for us," he said, patting the old man lightly on his shoulder in gratitude, before walking over to where Charlie had placed the meat. He picked up one of the large bones, before walking back to his place on the soil. Charlie smiled at him, picking up his own bone and eating from it.

Little conversation took place during the meal. Well, from David and Hatter that is. The two of them chose to satiate their hunger by eating as much food as their stomachs would allow. Charlie, on the other hand, chose to tell infinite stories about knights and magical creatures to fill the silence, making David and Hatter listen to him.

"Charlie, this is amazing!" David practically moaned out during a moment of silence, complimenting the man's cooking. Charlie grinned at the compliment. David took another large bite of the meat from the bone, revelling in the taste. He looked down at the bone in his hands, trying to decipher what sort of animal he could be eating. "What was it?" he asked, looking up at the old knight.

"Barbecued borogrove," he told him, smiling at the young man. "They're the devil to catch, but well worth the trouble, don't you think?" He grinned wider at David, before poking the fire to keep it burning.

David looked back down at the bone, before shrugging his shoulders. "When in Rome," he muttered nonchalantly, feeling like his stomach was about to pop. He tossed the bone aside, licking his lips to savour the taste of the animal.

Hatter smiled at him from where she was sitting, casting her eyes quickly to where he was licking his lips, before scolding herself and looking away. She attempted to distract herself from David by playing with her plate of food, but it was a hard task to do, considering the man was sat less than 5 feet in front of her.

Charlie began to walk back towards his cot, "Shan't be long!" he called back towards the pair, smiling brightly, before turning back and scurrying away.

David quickly turned his head towards Hatter. "What I want to know," he started, gaining Hatter's attention, "Is how are we going to strike a deal with the white rabbit?"

She sighed, throwing one of the bones onto her plate carelessly, before grabbing the plate and standing up from her log. "I did say it was a long shot," she retorted, walking passed David and around the fire, "But as long as you've got that ring, you've got a chance." she finished, placing her plate by the fire with the rest of the dirty cutlery.

David narrowed his eyes in confusion, "'You'?" he asked, raising from where he was sat on the floor. He stepped forward, moving closer towards her. "What happened to 'we'?" he asked, staring her in the eye, trying to read her expression. It was a hard task though, for Hatter was very good at keeping her emotions well hidden.

She closed her eyes momentarily, breaking eye contact, before sighing deeply and opening them once more. "David, I can't just leave" she started, grimacing at him slightly, "Wonderland's my home. I can't just.. Abandon it and run away, despite what I said before. I have to stay and fight."

David narrowed his eyes at her once more, wondering what had made her change her mind so quickly. "What?" he asked incredulously. His mind then flashed to images of the small woman fighting against the large suits. How would she be able to win?

"Seeing all this, look," Hatter started, gesturing around her with her hand, "This was once a great kingdom... Look at what's become of it now." she said in a sorrowful tone, "It's a wake-up call, to be honest. How can I just stand around and let the Queen ruin people's lives?" she asked, coming to walk around the fire and towards David, "My people, the hundreds of refugees that are all hiding out in the Great Library, underground... They're all terrified and counting on me." She came to a stop in front of him, staring up intently into his eyes.

David had to admire her courage, but he thought she was taking on a huge responsibility. There were thousands of people in the Library, and she was bringing it upon herself to save each and every one of them? Speaking of the Library... His mind flashed to previous events. "But didn't that Dodo bloke say that he's going to have you hunted down and killed?" he retorted back, trying to convince her that she couldn't stay. An image of her, lifeless pale body flashed into his mind and he shuddered at the thought, shaking it from his head.

Hatter rolled her eyes, scrunching up her face slightly. "Sure he did," she started, scowling slightly, "To be honest with you, I'd like to see him try to kill me. Wait, he already did try. Look at how far that got him.." she hung her head, glaring at the ground. "Anyway, maybe if I turned up with the ring, he might forgive me for... Well, you know, threatening to kill him."

David clenched his jaw in frustration, scowling down at her. "That's your plan?" he asked in a bitter tone.

Her head snapped up to look at him "Don't worry," she said, gazing into his brown eyes, "I'll make sure you and Ryan get home safe before that." she said, trying to reassure the taller man.

David's mind flashed back to when Ryan was dragged into the van, his eyes flashing in anger. "How do you plan to get him out of the casino, anyway?" he asked, his expression softening.

"I haven't come up with that part yet," she said, feeling slightly guilty that her quick mind couldn't think of a safe plan. David pursed his lips in slight annoyance, closing his eyes momentarily. "But don't worry," she said quickly, trying to reassure him, "I'll think of one. We'll get him back, I promise you." She raised one of her hands to rest on his covered arm, trying to comfort him. David snapped his eyes open to stare down at her, smiling slightly and nodding.

Hatter sighed, removing her hand from his arm and walking back to the large log. She sat down gently, pulling her knees up to her chest. David turned around to look at her, and saw that she was patting the space besides her, so as to ask him to join her. He walked over and sat down on the hard log, clasping his hands on his lap and staring into the distance.

"Tell me about him," Hatter's voice cut through the air softly. "Your brother, I mean."

David glanced over to her to see her looking at him intently. "Well, he's technically my half brother," he corrected her, smiling gently, "We have different fathers, you see. At first it was just my mum, my dad and me, but then my dad just... Vanished one day. We never saw him again. A bit later on, I think I was around 6 years old, my mother met someone else. He was called Paul." He paused in his story, turning to glance at Hatter once again. She was staring at him, fully enthralled in his story. He smiled at her before continuing, "He moved in a little while later, and my mother became pregnant with Ryan. I was 8 years old when he was born. Then it was the four of us, living in our little Yorkshire home, and-"

"Yorkshire?" Hatter asked, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

David looked at her, wondering why she was confused, but then realised that she wasn't from his world, and so couldn't possibly know of places within it. "It's a place back in my world. It's where I grew up," he explained and she nodded her head in understanding. "Anyway, the relationship between my mum and Paul wasn't so great... They argued a lot, and fought about the littlest of things. One day, they had this huge argument. I can't remember what it was about exactly, but all I remember was him hitting her." his tone turned angry as he glared into the trees across from him. "He slapped her across the face, told her how she was a useless whore..."

Hatter's mouth dropped open, a sudden pang of sympathy bubbling within her for him.

"The next day when I came home from school, he was no where to be seen. I asked my mother about it, and she just said we'd never see him again. I can remember her face. It was the first time for about 5 years that I'd seen her truly happy, even if her face did have a nasty bruise on it... She was right though. We never did see him ever again. Think he moved out of town."

He turned to face Hatter, smiling at her to reassure her that he was okay now. Hatter still could feel her anger and sympathy for him bubbling away though.

"Anyway, we stayed in our little house for a few years, before we chose to move to the US, another place in my world, when I was 21. We lived in a house together until I moved out around a year ago. Ryan's going through his teenage years though... He still lives with our mother, and he's a complete pain in the arse sometimes." he paused, sighing slightly, "I still love him though. We've been through so much together. He's one of my best friends, you know?" he said, smiling at Hatter. She smiled back, nodding her head.

"The day he was taken, he'd had an argument with our mother. I'd chased him out of the house to try and find him and saw he was being kidnapped, and well the rest you can probably figure out." he finished, smiling at her. His smile faltered when the thought of his mother being worried out of her mind at the thought of both Ryan and him being missing. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "What about you? Any brothers or sisters?"

The smile that was on Hatter's face disappeared automatically, and David instantly regretted asking her the question. She turned away from him, facing the trees once more. "I... I did have two brothers," she started in a slightly monotone voice, knitting her eyebrows together. David continued to look at her, wondering what had happened to them. "It was me, my brothers and my parents..." she closed her eyes tightly at the onslaught of memories that filled her mind.

"My father, Thomas Hatter... He was a well respected businessman. Sold the best teas in Wonderland. Real teas; teas of all flavours, colours and textures... Not that garbage the Queen loves. He was the most kind, caring and loving man I knew. He always pushed us to reach out ambitions and to never give up." she smiled at the memory of her father telling her how she was a hundred times better than the girls who used to bully her at school, and how they were just jealous of her because she wanted to get somewhere in life.

David noticed how her face seemed to brighten a little when she talked about her father.

"Eveline Hatter, my mother, was the sweetest, most generous person you would have ever met. She was beautiful, and everyone loved her. She always went out of her way to help someone, no matter who they were or where they came from, and she always made sure that our family was well looked after." Hatter's face brightened even further, a large smile falling onto her lips.

"And then, of course, there were my brothers. Russell and Alexander Hatter. Russell was the older of the two, and both of them were older than me. Russell was the joker of the family, always trying to cheer us up by making us laugh. He got in trouble quite a bit for his little jokes though." she laughed quietly to herself, making David smile at the cheerful sound, "And, of course, we can't forget about Alexander. He was the protective older brother of mine. He threatened to get payback on the girls that used to bully me in school... I refused to let him, though. He was irresponsible, but I still loved him all the same." she sighed, "I loved them all. Well, I still love them. They're my family and I will always love them," she said proudly, pursing her lips.

David noticed the use of past tense when talking about her family, but chose not to push her too quickly to tell him her story.

"Us Hatters can do amazing things, you know?" David's memory flashed back to what had happened on the bus at the Great Library, "We each have... Different things that we can do. My father had a level of intellect beyond that of a genius, my mother was an empath, Russell had superhuman senses and Alex had the strength of over ten men..." she hesitated before continuing, "And me... Well, I guess you could call me a healer." she stated simply. "I can heal others who are hurt, I heal a hell of a lot faster than a normal person, and it's next to impossible for someone to kill me."

David's eyes widened. He knew that she was different, but he had no idea just _how _different she was.

Hatter bit her lip nervously, not sure of how much she wanted to tell David. Of course, she trusted him. She didn't know why, but she did. But she'd known the man for less than a day, and yet she was already pouring herself out to him. She took in a deep breath, before turning to face him.

David could tell that she was reluctant to carry on with her story, and so he just simply smiled to her to reassure her. "I'm sorry about your loss," he said lamely, not knowing what to say after what she had just told him.

She simply nodded her head in gratification. "Thank you," she replied. "Thank you for listening to me."

She stood up from the log, smiling a sorrowful smile down at him. He stood up to join her, before reaching out and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her close, hugging her gently. Hatter was startled at the move. She froze in his arms, before coming back to her senses and wrapping her arms around him. She rested her head on his chest, clenching her eyes shut, trying to will herself not to cry at the thought of her family. She couldn't help but get lost in the feel of his arms around her, though. Strong and firm... She practically melted right then and there.

David unwrapped his arms from around her, trying to shake her scent from his mind. Honey, with a very strong hint of tea. He pulled away from her just far enough so that he could cast her a small smile. "Thank you too," he said quietly to her, before releasing her completely and walking over to the fire. Hatter joined him, watching the flames slowly die down.

Charlie walked around the fire and towards them, his voice piercing the silence, making the pair of them jump. "I have sorted out your sleeping arrangements, but I'm afraid that there is only a single bed available..." he looked at the two of them with an apologetic expression on his face.

David smiled at the man, "It's fine, Charlie. Hatter can take the bed," he suggested, turning to look at her. "No arguments," he said with finality in his tone. Hatter narrowed her eyes up at him, but was distracted when Charlie rested a hand on her shoulder and began to push her gently in the direction of her sleeping arrangements. She gave a heavy sigh, deciding to give in and follow Charlie. "Goodnight," she heard David call after her, making her smile softly, even if she was a little annoyed that she didn't have a say in where she was sleeping.

"Thank you, Charlie," she said quietly as the two of them came to a stop near the bed. She turned and looked up at the old man, a look of gratification on her face, "For everything you've done for us." Charlie looked down at the girl, a small smile forming on his lips. Earlier that day, he had felt quite hostile towards the girl, for she didn't seem to want to trust him. But throughout the day, and especially while they were sat around the fire, his feelings towards her had changed. He'd seen a different side to the young woman, and for that, he had come to think of her as a friend.

"You're very welcome, Hatter," he said in reply, using her name for the first time since he had met her. "Goodnight." He turned away from her, walking back towards where David was stood near the fire. Hatter slumped onto the bed, removing the brown pork pie hat from her head. She played with it in her hands for a few seconds, before placing it on one of the bed posts. She ran her fingers through her hair, wincing every time her hand got caught on a tangle. Once she was sure her hair was tangle-free, she wrapped her coat tightly around her, before lying down on the large bed. She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds around her. The crackling from the flames, the rustle from the wind blowing through the trees, and the faint sound of David and Charlie talking in the distance. She sighed deeply, her weary mind drifting off into dreamland.

Back at the pit, Charlie was busy apologising profusely to David for not having another bed. "Charlie, It's fine, honestly. I'll just camp out on the floor. No harm done," he said, patting the man's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. Charlie signed and handed him a small pillow. "Goodnight, Charlie," David whispered, walking over to the barn.

He sat down on the hard floor, watching as Charlie nodded his head towards him, before retiring to his own cot. David attempted to get comfortable, propping himself up against an old wooden gate. Once he was as comfortable as he was going to get, he finally let his heavy eyelids drop. He willed his mind to drift off, but it refused to do so. His mind was racing with thoughts of everything that had happened that day. Images of his mother flashed into his mind, and he felt a sudden pang of guilt in his gut. He had left her alone, and he didn't know how he was going to get back to her. She was probably worried sick.

His mind then flashed to the story that Hatter had told him. Her past. Her family. The guilt was replaced with a deep feeling of sorrow, and he grimaced. She was alone in this land. Nobody deserved to be alone, especially not Hatter.

Then, a more important thought came to his mind. Ryan. His brother... The one he was meant to be finding. He suddenly had the urge to get up and go; to find the boy alone. He was sure he'd be able to do it much quicker. Hatter hadn't even thought of a plan yet! What use was that? His brother could have been 'drained' like the other 'oysters' that were brought to this world. David shuddered at the thought.

But he didn't want to leave. No, he couldn't leave. Hatter had promised him that she would find a way to get them both out safely. He opened his bleary eyes and glanced over to her, seeing her small frame curled up into a ball on the large brass bed. Did he trust her? He wasn't sure. He had known the girl for less than a day, and in that time, she had proven to be much more than a con-woman. This girl had a heart, and a lot of responsibilities. For that, he respected her. It was then that he decided to give her one more day to think of a plan. If she failed to do so, then he would think of a plan himself.

His hand came to rest upon the chain around his neck, his fingers playing with his mother's ring. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep it safe if it was with him. Standing up from his position, he glanced around, looking for a safe place to keep it. Just then, the perfect hiding place fell into his line of vision and he smiled, walking over to it...


End file.
